Sin City Seer
by mrmiklos
Summary: First in the "After Sunnydale" Series. Someone's been watching the gang since Sunnydale fell. Now they've finally tracked it down and are looking to confront it...won't they be surprised by what they find.
1. Chapter 1

1. Chapter One

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: One of those annoying bunnies that was bothering me the last couple of months. There might be some potential here, but only if you all want it.

AN2: This is a previously published work done for . Disagreements with management there have led me to publish elsewhere.

Let me know what you think.

She awoke as she always did, with a near scream on her lips as she shot up suddenly in bed. Her breathing came in sudden, deep gulps of air and she closed her eyes and concentrated on getting her breathing under control. She glanced over at the man beside her, watching to see if she had awoken him from his sleep with her nightmare. After several moments of listening to his slow, rhythmic breathing she decided that she hadn't.

She climbed carefully out of bed and headed into the living room, the ritual for these situations a habit now. A quick drink of juice, or milk, and then she'd sit down at her laptop and type out as much of the dream as she remembered. After that she'd have another drink of juice and then she'd go back to bed.

As she sat down with her drink she thought about how the ritual while strange perhaps to some was much better than her old one. A slight frown marred her pretty features as she thought about the other kind of drink she would have been having at this moment. Before she got herself better under control. Before he became a real part of her life. Before she became a part of his.

She shook off such useless thoughts and simply sent up a quick prayer of thanks that they had finally found one another and started typing.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when she felt his approach and couldn't help but smile. He tried to be so sneaky, so quiet but he might as well of been wearing a cowbell, and flashing a searchlight. They didn't understand what the connection was that they shared, they only knew that they could always feel one another. It, surprisingly, wasn't something that two people like them, two people rooted in the world of science and reason needed to examine. It simply was, and that was enough for them.

He rested his hands on her shoulders and asked, "Was it bad?"

She shrugged, and tilted her head to one side, so she could rub her cheek on his hand. She closed her eyes at the contact before she straightened up and finally answered his question, "I'm not sure if there getting worse, or just more vivid."

He bent down beside her and reviewed what she had written quickly before he said, "Is it related to anything we're working on or…"

She shook her head, "No, this isn't anything we're working on, at least not unless you know something that I don't involving monsters?"

"Monsters?" he asked to which she typed up a few pages showing him the aforementioned monsters.

"Ah, vampires again I see," he said after a moment, "The blonde again?"

She shook her head, "No this time it was the pirate and the red witch."

He nodded his head, "Haven't seen them in a while. Wonder what it could mean."

"Mean," she asked confused, "It doesn't mean anything. These are the silly ones, remember."

He nodded his head, "I know, but ever since we discovered your, gift," he emphasized the word to make sure there would be no argument, "I've always thought that these dreams mean something, something symbolic."

"Maybe it's just my subconscious's way of cleaning itself out. I see so much human evil…" she let the thought die. It was a conversation they'd had many times in the past. Ever since they had first realized that she was able to see things in her dreams that were true and real they'd discussed the meaning, or lack there of, of the "silly dreams".

Naturally they'd never come to a conclusion and it usually got lost anyway in the broader discussion of why she had this ability, and what it meant.

Not looking for an argument he decided to let it drop and said instead, "Come to bed, it's late."

"I will in a sec, just let me finish this real quick."

He nodded and kissed her gently on the cheek before getting up and headed back to the bedroom. He was just about to leave the room when her voice stopped him, "Gil?"

He turned back to her with an obvious question on his face. She smiled at him and said, "I love you."

I love you too, Sara, now come to bed."

She nodded her head and closed the laptop. She was done anyway, she had just been rereading it.

She shook her head as she settled in next to her lover and he spooned up against her, embracing her in his surprisingly strong arms, 'Monsters, where did that nonsense come from?'

That was her last coherent thought as sleep reclaimed her.

*****

On the other side of the world, in a cave deep in the heart of Africa Xander Harris was wiping the blood and dust from his hands and face as his best friend in the world, Willow Rosenberg came up beside him. The two friends smiled at one another, satisfied in another job well done.

In addition, an extra bonus they finally had a lead on a mystery that had been plaguing them since the destruction of Sunnydale.

"You felt it right?" Xander asked.

Willow paused in her own efforts at clean up and shot him an impatient scowl and said, "For the fifth time, yes, Xander, I felt it. That's why we activated the charms, that's why we need to call Buffy now. You were right, I was wrong, how many times do you need to hear me say it?"

Xander shrugged and then smiled mischievously and asked, "How long is the trip to Las Vegas?"

The look she gave him could have reduced him to smoldering ashes and he knew it, but he also knew that she would never do that, instead she decided to ignore him completely and pulled out her cell phone.

She flipped it open and, thanks to a little magical boost inherent in the device found a connection even out in the middle of nowhere. The phone rang twice before it was picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" A voice asked.

"Dawn, its Willow."

"Willow!?!" The excited woman on the other end shouted, "How are you guys? Everything ok?"

"Everything's fine Dawn," Willow said, easily detecting the concern in the younger woman's voice, "I just called to let you know that we got a signal on Xander's charm."

"You mean that charm?" Dawn asked, seemingly shocked.

For the last couple years since the battle with the First Giles, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Faith, Dawn, Kennedy, and a few of the others that had been there at the final battle had a feeling like they were being watched.

At first they had each dismissed it in kind; chalking it up to too many years facing the darkness. Then through sheer accident they started comparing notes and found a disturbing trend that led them to believe that someone, or something, was watching them.

Concerned that this could be surveillance for an attack of some sort Xander had struck on the idea that any and all that had felt the 'watching' would carry a charm that would try and track the source to its origin.

Buffy was especially eager to get her hands on the "Peeping Tom Demon" that had been giving her the Wiggins for the last couple of years.

Willow had been unsure that the charm would even work, figuring any power strong enough to observe them this long and not be found would have some sort of shielding. The fact that it had worked would, Dawn knew, give Xander no small amount of joy to tease her about. Dawn smiled at the thought as Willow answered her.

"Yes, that charm," the witch said irritably, taking great pains to ignore the gleeful look her friend was shooting her. "Tell Buffy it's in Las Vegas. Xander and I are going to head there as soon as we can and we'll meet you all there."

"Got it," Dawn said, "We'll meet you there as soon as we can. Tell Xander I said 'Hi'."

"I will. Bye Dawn."

"Bye Willow."

Willow hung up her phone and said, "Dawn says 'Hi'."

Xander nodded, "So, Vegas huh?"

"Vegas," Willow confirmed as her hair and eyes turned pure white and she began to weave the magic of the teleportation spell.

"Could be interesting…Sin City and all," Xander joked.

Willow didn't bother to look at him and instead groaned and said, "Don't start."

An affronted "Hey" could clearly be heard even as the two friends vanished from sight


	2. Chapter 2

2. Arrivals, Discoveries, and Mysteries

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amateur writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amateur. :)

AN: This part has a lot of what I call third-person explanation. Basically it's my way of catching the reader up on exactly what's going on in the world and how everything got to where it is at this moment. I like to do that as early as possible because I know I hate reading something and wondering how the characters got there. So this part will, at least I hope, clear up how the characters got to where they are. That way I only have to do it once and can try and concentrate on the story. I hope it's clear and not to jumbled. The way I read things and they way others read them doesn't always mesh. If it's bad, tell me, if it's good tell me to. That way I know how I'm doing.

Anyway, on with the show.

Las Vegas Airport Las Vegas Nevada

August 17th, 2006

"I still don't understand why you didn't just teleport us all the way here," Xander said as they stepped off the plane, "You know how much I hate international air travel."

"I told you, Xander," Willow said, ready to throttle her best friend after more than fifteen hours of being cooped up with him inside an airplane, "Giles said our government contacts like it better when we travel into the country by conventional means because it's harder to explain our presence if we're questioned by authorities when according to official records we're not even in the country."

"But doesn't that just mean that the bad guys know we're in the country now?" the One Who Sees, asked.

"So?" the former black witch asked, "I prefer that they know, makes them nervous and when they're nervous they make mistakes."

Xander couldn't fault the truth in that statement, having used the exact same tactic himself on numerous occasions over the last few years. Of course truth be told he knew that someone as powerful as Willow couldn't arrive anywhere without setting off alarm bells in the circles they usually traveled. The most powerful Wicca in the hemisphere, the virtual heir apparent to the title of most powerful magic user in the world didn't do anything with her power that other supernatural creatures didn't recognize, that was just the way it was.

Xander scanned the airport as they moved towards the baggage claim area, his one good eye taking in everything while his mind cataloged people into suspicious and not suspicious categories with ease.

It had been almost a year since the remnants of his former possessions were pulled from his soul. The two energies had been altered, strengthened, and purified, and then shoved back into him by an African Shaman that felt he was repaying Xander for rescuing his tribe from a demonic soul eater. He had recognized the energies and decided that if they'd been in Xander then he should get their full benefit and not the bare effect they were having. Xander hadn't exactly been pleased knowing the hyena and soldier were still inside him and now were a fully integrated part of him. Even though he didn't exactly feel like eating raw meat he was still nervous by the presence of the Hyena.

The Shaman had explained that the energy was originally tainted by evil intent of the man that originally cast the spell so long ago that had led to Xander's possession. Xander could understand that, having spent so much time with Willow who explained all the ins and outs of intent with regards to magic usage.

So Xander had grudgingly and guardedly accepted what had been done to him and just tried to get used to the things his amplified senses told him.

Like the fact that the young couple that had gotten off the plane just before he and Willow had apparently joined the mile high club, as well as the fact that the man was cheating on the woman since he had the scent of another woman on him under a layer of soap and deodorant.

It was those kinds of things that he really didn't want to know and usually had him cursing the Shaman's lineage in every one of the numerous languages he knew under his breath. Then his senses would tell him something useful, like the fact that a pick pocket was trying to lift his wallet and he'd be singing the Shaman's praises.

It was all still confusing to say the least.

Xander didn't even bother to look at the man as he reached back and grabbed one of his fingers; giving the offensive digit a quick twist which resulted in the satisfying snap, before moving away quickly with Willow.

It was so fast in fact that it took almost two seconds for the man to realize what had happened and for the pain to finally register in his mind. By that time Willow and Xander were lost in the sea of humanity moving around the terminal.

The two best friends made it to the carousel that would deliver their luggage to them without further incident and waited calmly with the other passengers. Some of the more eager gamblers weren't able to wait and had already made their way to the slot machines to do some quick runs with the one armed bandits prior to moving on to get their taxis.

Xander was amazed at how desperate people were to lose their money, seeing some of the passengers stop to use the slot machines right at the gate. He shook his head at the nonsense.

*****

Willow watched her friend with amusement as they moved through the airport. What he didn't know was that in all honesty their trip via airplane had been the final test of his altered possessive state.

Giles had wanted to see if the young man he considered a son would be able to handle being cooped up in an airplane for hours on end without becoming violent at the claustrophobic nature of long air flight.

Giles had been infuriated with the Shaman that had done this to Xander, and it had taken Willow several hours to stop her surrogate father from hopping the Council jet and flying down to Africa and showing this "Parlor trickster" as he called the Shaman exactly why 'Ripper Giles' had been one of the most feared magic users in London.

Giles was mister calm, cool, and collected unless you messed with one of his children. When that happened you would be lucky if the police were able to identify all of the pieces.

The witch still gave an involuntary shudder when she remembered what Giles had done to the fanatic witch hunter that had shot Willow with a dart that was specially designed to neutralize a witch's powers.

The entire situation had shaken her. She was supposed to be so powerful and yet a simple dart had nearly cost her her life.

The man had been a zealot, as bad as anyone that had ever run the Council, Travers included. He'd said that witches were inherently evil and couldn't be trusted with the power they wielded. Nothing Willow said could dissuade him from that belief.

Willow had struggled desperately against the bindings he had applied to her that served to further neutralize her powers but it was hopeless.

Then just when she was sure the man was going to kill her Giles had suddenly appeared. She didn't know how he'd found her but at that moment she didn't care. All she cared about was that she was safe and everything would be alright.

That was until she noticed the distinct lack of glasses on the man's face and the dark look in his eyes and she knew that things were going to get ugly.

The hunter was probably fifteen years younger than Giles and armed to the teeth and he might as well of jumped off a cliff because he would have suffered less.

Giles beat the man to within an inch of his life and left him bleeding and beaten on the ground. He untied Willow and helped her out of the building that the man had taken her to. He'd made sure to block her view of the man's body but she couldn't erase the images from her head no matter how hard she tried.

After she had recovered Giles, back in his glasses and looking exactly like the stuffy Brit he pretended to be, explained that the man belonged to a radical group that was opposed to any and all supernatural creatures and worked to eliminate them wherever they were.

The Council had long since dealt with them and by proving to be the bigger fish and had basically intimidated the group into leaving the Council and the Slayer alone.

It seemed that with the old leadership blown up, thanks to the First, the group had assumed it was their chance to deal a blow to the new Council by eliminating one of the magic using "abominations" from the world.

Giles had dealt with this as any father would who had the power of the Council behind him. A few phone calls and the right words in the right ears and most of the group had been picked up for various weapons and drug charges and sent away to prisons for a very, very long time.

Willow didn't even bother to ask if Giles felt guilty about sending innocent people to prison. She knew that when it came to those that were his children, even if it wasn't by blood, there was nothing Giles wouldn't do for them. So she let it go and neither of them ever spoke of it again.

So it was with that memory still fresh in the young witch's head that she was nearly terrified that Giles would make good on his threat which would have been a disaster for their African operations.

She was able to convince him that they should wait and see if the repossessions were going to be a problem and that was why for the last nine months she had been working with Xander in Africa.

It had given the two friends a chance to really reconnect with one another and remember why they had been so close for so long.

Their friendship re-blossomed and became even stronger than it had been when they were teenagers. Since she was no longer crushing on him as she had when she was a girl, and Xander was no longer the nervous, self-conscious and self-effacing boy that he had been the friendship became something to be marveled at by others.

It had also taken some of the sting out of the loss of Kennedy.

The young Slayer had been trying to stop a Master Vampire from opening the Cleveland Hellmouth when she was killed shortly after Willow had arrived in Africa to assist Xander.

Everyone was terrified that they were in for another appearance of Darth Willow; everyone that is except Xander

He had known that his best friend was in a different place than she'd been when she lost Tara. He knew that she would be hurting, but he also knew that she was so filled with White Magic now that she'd never allow herself to abuse that magic by trying to take revenge on the world for her own pain.

He had been right of course.

They had been working a on a treaty between two rival demonic factions when Willow felt Kennedy's death through her connection to the Earth.

The young witch had gasped in pain, looked at Xander with her big green eyes filled with tears, told him what had happened and then collapsed into his arms.

She had cried for quite a while before becoming exhausted and falling into a deep, if troubled sleep in the hut they were staying in.

While she slept Xander had made a couple of phone calls to be sure that what his friend had felt was true and to assure everyone that the world was safe from Willow's wrath. He'd be taking care of her and getting her through it and yes, he'd make sure that she knew how sorry they all were.

She had teleported them to England for the funeral a week later and the two friends had been inseparable.

All of her other friends tried to offer her some comfort and support and she took it all gratefully but it had been Xander that had really gotten her through it.

After that they had returned to Africa and had been working together ever since, until the warning from the charms led them to Las Vegas.

Willow shook her head at the memories as the carousel began to move. She smiled brightly at Xander who gave her his goofy grin in return, looking nothing like the dangerous warrior he had truly become. Willow was going to be happy to report to Giles that this time, this one time at least, the fates had been on their side and Xander was in no danger of losing himself. It would be a weight off all their shoulders.

*****

Xander knew what Willow was thinking about, or at least he though he did. One of the advantages to having the soldier and the hyena mixed together inside him was that he was a lot more intuitive than he had been.

He'd known that her arrival in Africa so soon after the "incident" as they called it wasn't a coincidence, and that she was there to make sure that he really was ok.

This was confirmed for him the first time he heard her giving Giles a status report on his performance as well as his apparent state of mind.

The plane ride that he'd just suffered through was what they had deemed his final "test" to make sure that the hyena, which was the part they were really all afraid of anyway, wouldn't cause him to freak out on the long plane ride.

He smiled at their concern and he understood it. The Scoobies had been through a lot over the years and they were justifiably skittish. In their work they had seen too many people hurt by careless uses of power not to be.

So he took it in good grace and the spirit in which it was intended. It was kind of nice to have a father that actually gave a damn about him. Plus he got to spend a whole butt load of time with his "bestest" bud, so it was all good.

*****

The two friends grabbed their luggage and headed out to the taxi pick up area. As they approached the area a man in a limo driver outfit was holding a sign with their names on it.

He explained, after they'd introduced themselves that he was to take them to the Wynn Casino and Resort where their room was already prepared compliments of Mr. Rupert Giles.

The two friends had smiled at that, and both thought at the same time that they'd need to give the man something extra special when they saw him next.

They stepped out into the oppressive heat of Las Vegas, neither really noticing it after their time spent under the African sun and were just about to step into the limousine with Willow suddenly froze.

Xander immediately grew concerned as she seemed to almost stumble and he grabbed her to steady her. As he did she turned to him and her eyes were filled with pain and worry and she spoke four words that froze him to his core.

"Something bad just happened."

*****

1847 Dracen Drive

Las Vegas Nevada

Captain Jim Brass came out of the house and ducked under the yellow police tape with a grim expression on his face that Gil Grissom hadn't ever seen on his friend's face before. Brass was a hard man that had seen a lot of dark things in his time and for the seasoned detective to look this disturbed it had to mean that it was a slice of Hell inside that house.

Brass stood there as Gil and Sara approached and when they were within a comfortable talking distance said, "I've never seen anything like it, Grissom, it's practically medieval."

"What have we got, Jim?"

Brass took a deep breath to get himself back under control and said, "The family's name is the Lawson," Brass began, "Husband's name is Michael age Forty-five; Wife's is Amanda age Forty-two. Four kids three girls and a boy, Jason, age seventeen, Michelle age fifteen, Denise age eleven, and Elizabeth age eight. Husband wife and son are in the kitchen. Looks like they were killed first and quick. The three girls…"

Brass actually tapered off as the images of what he saw flew across his mind's eye once again. He shuddered for a moment, silently berating himself for acting like a rookie on his first assignment. It was made only a little better by the fact that no one that had seen the three girls had been unaffected at least as bad as he had. A few people had needed to sprint to a trash can to lose their stomach contents.

Brass got himself under control and said, "The three girls are in the basement. It looks like whoever did this to them took hours with them. Signs of sexual assault on all three of the girls but none on the parents or the son, torture too on the girls. It's almost like there were two types of people involved. On the one hand we've got three clean kills in the kitchen, in the basement," he took another breath, "in the basement it looks like Jack the fucking Ripper came to town."

Brass shook his head and said, "Scene's been secured, they're waiting on you. I'm going back to the lab. I need to call the mayor. As far as you're concerned until this thing is cleared this is the only case your team has. I'll make sure Ecklie doesn't give you any problems. This is going to get ugly."

Grissom nodded and watched Jim leave before looking at Sara, concern clearly written on his face. It sounded like this was going to be one of the worst scenes they'd ever processed, and what's worse it involved children.

Gil Grissom hated cases like this. Dead children always taxed his objectivity and in ways no other cases did. He silently mused that it was probably true for most people in law enforcement that cases involving children held a special place for them.

You worked a little harder, pushed a little more, and always, always, treated the victims just a little gentler. As if gentleness after death made up for the pain they had suffered before it.

Gil lanced quickly over at Sara Sidle, one of his team members and saw her shifting uncomfortably. That could only mean one thing; she was feeling something from the house.

Neither one of them could pinpoint exactly when it was that they realized that the feelings she got weren't just empathy for the victims, but actual visions and impressions of the crimes that had taken place.

It didn't happen all the time, but it did happen enough that eventually they saw the pattern. That, combined with the dreams that she never told anyone about led them to one undeniable conclusion. Somehow, some way, Sara was able to see things that had happened.

As scientists the idea of Extra Sensory Perception seemed outlandish, yet they couldn't deny the facts that they had strong evidence to support its existance, no matter hoe much they wanted to.

Grissom had at that point quoted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes when he told her, "When you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

Sara had loudly pointed out that visions should be eliminated as impossible. It was of course at that moment, naturally, that one of said impossible visions struck her like a prize fighter between the eyes.

When she recovered her senses she found herself sitting on the floor, Gil, a worried expression clear on his face kneeling beside her, and a clear image in her head of exactly where they'd find the murder weapon in the case they were working.

After that neither argued against the existence of her ability, only tried to get as much of a handle on it as they could.

It was to that end that Grissom had suggested that she start writing them down, rather than try to ignore them.

Again Sara, in her typical stubborn fashion had stated that the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of what it was that she sometimes saw in her sleep, and even when she was awake. Grissom had been insistent however and eventually she caved.

She couldn't stand the idea of telling him, a few weeks after she'd started her journal that strangely enough, once she wrote one of them down that particular nightmare didn't plague her again. It was as if being truly acknowledged led to some form of peace.

Once that was settled it had become a kind of puzzle to figure out which of her visions were relevant to what they were working on and which ones, like her monster ones, weren't.

Also, interestingly enough, not all of her visions were of death, murder, and mayhem. Some of them were of truly trivial day to day things like people reading the paper, or drinking tea, or driving their cars.

It was as if she was a receptor for all kinds of stray information and it was up to her to figure out which pieces were important and which weren't. Over the past couple years she'd finally gotten to the point where she felt capable of telling which was which.

It was through the course of Gil's efforts to help her control her gift that they began spending more and more time together. Their already instinctive attraction to one another slowly pushed past the self-imposed boundaries Gil had imposed on their relationship and eventually, they had become lovers.

It brought the slightest of smiles to his face despite the current situation.

*****

Sara caught the look Grissom was giving her, as well as the small smile and recognized it for what it was. He was thinking about them, again.

Sara gave him a small smile right back despite the uncomfortable feelings she was getting from nearly every direction of the crime scene that had once been a happy home.

Even as these feelings tried to assault the walls she had constructed around herself over the past couple of years she remembered how it had been when it all first started.

She remembered how the visions had been small at first. Little flashes here and there, hardly noticeable when they were thrown in amongst the already troubling dreams Sara suffered through. She'd been having bad dreams nearly all her life and with the exception of her problems with alcohol a few years ago had more or less been able to function despite them.

Slowly however the visions began to take up more and more of her sleep and even began invading her waking hours and finally became impossible to ignore or stop, even with the excessive amounts of alcohol she had started consuming.

She had finally confided in Grissom after a DUI arrest that could have cost her her job. He was the only one she truly trusted, despite his refusal to see where their mutual attraction to one another would lead, and she had told him everything in one night that had been filled with tears and more than a few shouts and harsh words.

After that first night they had begun a detailed recording of what she saw and slowly, over time they began to realize the startling truth, that her visions and nightmares weren't nightmares at all but were truly visions of things that had happened.

Once they had accepted all of this, they had worked hard to help her get a handle on the visions so they wouldn't interfere so much with her life.

It had been a long, hard road but eventually they succeeded in reining in, at least somewhat, the unpredictable nature of her ability. For the most part she only had them when she slept now. Images and scenes that played through her mind so clearly and gave obvious warning that they were anything but what she would consider "normal" dreaming.

Slowly she trained herself to wake when one of the visions occurred and to write it down in a journal on her laptop.

Strangely enough, waking from a deep sleep and writing these visions down didn't leave her tired like one would assume. It was as if the time she spent awake and writing down what she saw didn't take away from her night's rest.

Of course she could be sleeping better because now she had someone to hold her when she slept.

That was one reason she was thankful for the visions she had, because of them, and their working together to help her learn to control them, she and Grissom had finally taken their relationship in the direction Sara had always wanted.

It made the pain and horror she sometimes felt in her visions seem like a small price to pay.

Right now however she was truly wishing her "gift" as Grissom insisted on calling it would take a serious chill pill. Recently the visions had extended to now feelings as well as pictures. Sometimes they would come together sometimes they would come separately. It was a new dimension that added the full on 3-D experience to what she saw. Now she didn't just see it, sometimes she felt it too.

Or, like now, sometimes she just felt it.

Whatever had happened in this house had been ugly, evil, and sadistic, and she was getting impression after impression of what had happened here. The horror and pain of what had been done to this family filled the house like an overflowing cup and it was bombarding Sara relentlessly.

The only thing keeping her from running outside to throw up was her own dogged determination to not let this new aspect of this thing control her.

If she couldn't get a handle on what was happening and soon however she was going to have to leave the crime scene to pull her self together. That would generate a lot of questions than either she or Gil were in mood to answer, and she knew it.

As always however Gil seemed to sense her discomfort and said, "Sara why don't you take upstairs, see what you can find."

Sara nodded the gratefulness clear in her eyes as she carried her kit up the stairs where she could be alone and get herself under control.

Grissom watcher her go out of the corner of his eye. Worry evident in his features if one knew what to look for.

The look was quickly covered up completely as the rest of his team made their way into the house.

Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders, and Catherine Willows. Arguably one of the best CSI teams in the country as far as Grissom was concerned. They were one of the reasons the Vegas CSI lab was one of the best in the country and he knew it and so did they.

They'd worked long and hard to become a machine that worked seamlessly together on their cases and that work had paid off. Something told Grissom that they were going to be tested to their limits with this case.

Gil turned to them and said, "Warrick, take perimeter. Greg and Nick, kitchen. Sara's starting upstairs and she'll work her way down to the other rooms in the house. Hopefully we can figure out how they got in and how many of them there were."

He turned to Catherine Willows as the rest of his people made to carry out their assignments and said, "Catherine you're with me, you ready?"

Catherine just shrugged as if to ask, 'Would it matter if I wasn't?' and the two made their way into Hell.

*****

Xander and Willow stood outside the house along with the rest of the gathered crowd of on lookers. The crowd afforded them a perfect cover for them to observe what was happening. Of course both would have preferred to get into the house but that wasn't going to be possible at the moment without having to answer a lot of question and call in a few favors that they weren't in the mood for until they had a better handle on exactly what they were dealing with.

So far all they knew was that Willow had gotten a strong feeling of evil that had led them to this house.

When they had arrived, in a rental car, a stretch limo would simply attract too much attention, Willow had looked sick to her stomach.

It was obvious, she'd said, that some form of Dark Ritual had taken place in the house, but what it was for or who had done it was a mystery for the moment and would remain so until they could get more information.

So the two friends had worked the crowd, listening to comments from the on lookers or from the few police that were close to the barrier that the "civilians" were made to stand behind.

In addition they were doing their best to be on the look out for anyone that might have been showing a little too much interest in what was going on. Experience had taught them that Supernatural evil was a lot like human evil, it liked to survey the effects of its handiwork.

An hour passed and the crowd that had been gathered when they first arrived had begun to thin; only a few of those that had been there when they arrived were still standing around. Neither one of them suspected that these people were involved, instead classifying them as those types that truly had no life beyond sticking their noses where it didn't belong.

Willow and Xander had stopped their crowd work and instead had gotten as close as they'd been able and waited, hoping to get some information that they could use.

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity as gurneys began to exit the house with the tell tale black body bags on them. The two friends shared grim expressions as they counted six bodies in all. That meant, according to the information they had gathered, that the whole family had most likely been murdered. If the residual magic Willow was sensing was any indication several, if not all of them had been sacrificed in some form of ritual that Willow was unsure of as far as purpose. As she watched those bodies loaded into the vehicles that would take them to morgue however she made a promise to herself to find out exactly what its purpose had been and why, and most important of all, who needed to pay for it.

So intent on her inner thoughts she didn't notice the dark haired woman that exited the house and stood off to the side under a tree for what appeared to be a bit of fresh air. Xander however did see her and he could only imagine what it must me like inside the house and he felt a twinge of sympathy for the woman who definitely was earning her pay today.

Suddenly he felt the charm that had led them to Vegas in the first place shift in his pocket, indicating close proximity to the target it had been designed to seek out. Xander pulled the charm out and showed it to Willow who quickly grew very interested, her musings of just a few moments ago forgotten in the wake of what seemed to be the answer to a mystery that had been plaguing the Scoobies for quite some time.

Looking around to make sure they weren't noticed Willow said a few words over the charm. It was a simple spell that would make whatever the charm was designed to locate glow with a light that only someone with magical sight would be able to see.

After completing the incantation Willow looked around quickly to see who or what the charm was reacting to and was quite surprised to see that it was the woman that had come out of the house just a moment ago.

She looked to Xander and nodded in the woman's direction, confirming his suspicion considering the charm had reacted when the woman had stepped outside.

Suddenly, as if realizing she was being watched the woman began looking very intently in their direction and the two former Sunnydalers took that as their cue to make themselves scarce, and headed for their rental. They had a face now and it would be a simple matter for Willow to hack into the city employment records and find out who the woman was.

After that the two friends would begin to figure out what they're mysterious observer and the Dark Ritual Willow had sensed had to do with one another and then they'd figure out what to do about it.

*****

Sara had finally had enough and decided she needed some fresh air to purge her mind and soul of the darkness she'd been feeling since she'd arrived.

She stepped out into the sun and headed over to a tree to get into some shade and collect her thoughts.

She had only been there a few moments when she suddenly got the eerie feeling that she was being watched and she followed the feeling to where she thought it was coming from and saw two people that made her eyes widen almost comically in surprise.

Before she could do much more than stare in dumbfounded shock the two people in question quickly turned and headed for a car that they climbed into and drove off. Not in a hurry, but definitely with purpose.

Sara tried to catch at least part of the license plate but she was too far away and by the time she thought to call to one of the officers they were gone.

Usually she wouldn't have frozen up like that but she had just been too shocked to do anything else.

Because what Sara Sidle saw just couldn't be real; a man with an eye patch and a red haired woman that reminded her too much of the pirate and the witch of her dreams for comfort.

She shook her head as if trying to clear it as one thought kept making it's way through her head, 'What the Hell is going on?'.


	3. Chapter 3

3. Chapter Three: Processing

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: ****PLEASE READ****I needed to think up a crime that would be so vile that it would stir emotions in the Seasoned SCI team that we wouldn't normally see. Remebering that even Grissom has reacted with less than professional detachment at the death of children I decided to make the deaths as ugly as possible. I don't know if I'm straining the rating or not and I don't want to offend anyone. But it needed to be bad, and I think I accomplished that without getting to graphic. Still a subtle warning. The girls died hard and I had to reflect that.

As Grissom and Catherine stepped down the final stairs into the basement neither could hold the gasp at the smell. It was like a slaughter house. The basement had been well furnished and apparently had served as a focus for the entire family. There was a large screen TV, a pool table; a game system Grissom couldn't identify was stored on one of the shelves of a large entertainment center, along with board games, and many other toys, games, and equipment. This had been a happy family, he realized as he looked around. He could see them all, down here, watching movies or playing one of the games. All of them laughing and enjoying one another.

Maybe it hadn't been like that all the time, but the well used appearance of everything convinced Gil that it was that way often.

Now however that happy area had turned into one of horror. Grissom looked over at Catherine, instinctively checking to make sure she was alright. Grissom had seen a family photo just as they were coming down the stairs and all of the Lawson children were blonde, and any one of the girls could have been Lindsey at their respective ages. It was times like these, when he was happy he wasn't a parent. He couldn't imagine having to look into a face of a young victim and have to thank a God he didn't even really believe in that it wasn't your kid.

That was just an extra slab of guilt that he didn't need.

Catherine placed her kit gently on the ground and asked, "Where should we start?"

Grissom looked at one of the uniforms, the one that looked like he wanted to puke the least and asked, "Has the coroner been here?"

The uniformed officer nodded, "The coroner told me to tell you that the scene was released to you."

"Where is he?"

The uniform pointed towards a closed door, "He's been in there puking since he got down here."

Grissom began to move towards the bathroom, intent on chewing David out. He knew better than to contaminate a scene like that. Grissom however froze in his tracks as he came around the large, high back couch that had been partially shielding his view. As the entire killing area came into view he suddenly loss all desire to rip into the sickened coroner.

He felt Catherine stiffen behind him as she saw it as well.

It was a mistaken impression held by many, even those on the police force that Grissom and in fact most of his people were ice cold when it came to their job.

It was the same mistake people made about cops. It wasn't that cops didn't have feelings, and weren't sometimes disgusted and appalled by what they saw. It was that they had learned to shield themselves from it somewhat and to compartmentalize their reactions so they could do their jobs. Still, every so often a case would come along that would cause even the most seasoned officer to lose control of his emotions somewhat.

The same was true for CSI's as well. Grissom had seen it in every one of his people; had experienced himself once or twice. But as he looked on the broken, bleeding, and mutilated bodies of the Lawson sisters it was the first time in his career he felt like turning around, going back to the office, and turning in his resignation.

*****

Sara had been upstairs probably twenty minutes when she realized that she felt ridiculous basically hiding because of what she was feeling. She had made a promise to herself, to Grissom that she would not, could not let this thing interfere with her work. Except for him her work was all she had and to be in any way threatened with its loss was completely unacceptable to her.

Yet here she was, hiding like a child while her team was actually doing their job. With that in mind she turned back to the job at hand and finished up what in reality should have only taken her five or ten minutes. There was no evidence that anything had happened up stairs. The parent's bed was made, while the children's were not. There was no evidence of foul play or of any clean up. What ever had happened in this house had not happened up here.

Satisfied she packed up her case and headed back down the stairs to try and help out.

She found Greg and Warrick working the parents and son. She nodded to Warrick when he saw her, "Hey Warrick, need some help?"

Warrick tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes and Sara recognized it as he said, "I think we got it, but Grissom and Catherine might need some help."

The words caused Greg to stiffen noticeably and Sara looked questioningly at him, noticing for the first time how green he looked, "Greg are you ok?" she asked with concern. She had never seen him look like this.

Greg turned to Warrick for just a moment and then said, "It's bad down there Sara. Really bad."

That was all he said before he stood and looked apologetically at Warrick and said, "I need…" Warrick just nodded, "Go ahead."

Greg nodded and before he had taken three steps Warrick called his name. As Greg turned back Warrick looked at him sympathetically and said, "It's no big deal Greg, we all get hit by a case sooner or later."

Greg nodded appreciatively before stepping out of the back door.

Sara looked back at Warrick after the young man was gone, "How bad is it? Really?"

Warrick went back to collecting samples as he collected his thoughts, then finally said, "I've never seen anything like it. I can't believe someone human could have even done something like this. If I didn't know better I'd swear there were real monsters in the world and that's what we're looking for."

Warrick didn't notice the effect the words had on Sara, suddenly intent on something.

"Hey Sara, hand me a swab," he held out his hand to her without taking his eyes off of what he was studying.

Sara shook off the chill that had run up her back at Warrick's mention of monsters and handed him the evidence swab.

"Find something?" She asked, as she kneeled down near where he was, being careful not to get to close.

"I don't know," he said as he sampled the stain that had caught his eye, "At first I thought it was blood but it's the wrong color and consistency. Maybe they can figure it out back at the lab. Might be unique, give us a lead."

Sara nodded as he got up and placed the evidence in his kit. She saw Greg was making his way back to the door and decided she didn't want to embarrass him more by still being there when he came in so she quickly grabbed her kit and made her way out of the kitchen and headed down into the basement.

*****

Gill and Catherine worked silently on the three Lawson sisters. It just seemed by mutual unspoken agreement to be inappropriate to carry on the usual banter that they did when they were working a scene.

Greg had come down earlier to ask Grissom about something he'd found and had turned white and the green so fast Grissom had been afraid the younger man would pass out. Greg had pulled himself together however and simply turned and gone back upstairs.

Warrick had come down a few moments later, and asked the question about the evidence the two had found and to give Grissom some preliminary findings. While Warrick was a more seasoned CSI than Greg the scene had affected him as well and Grissom understood completely when he left quicker than his usual controlled pace.

Grissom had to give his people credit. Those that had seen this scene thus far were holding themselves together like real professionals. He was also proud that none of them felt the need to pretend they weren't affected by what they saw. Each of them was confident enough in themselves to demonstrate their humanity.

He turned back to the bodies and wondered how anyone with humanity could not be affected by the scene before him, how could anyone with humanity do something like this.

Each of the three sisters had been physically nailed to the floor. Long nails ran through their wrists and ankles. They had been positioned so that each sister's head was next to another's feet forming a kind of asymmetrical triangle in the center of large circle that had been drawn on the floor with various symbols.

Each of the three sisters had been stripped and other symbols had been carved into their bodies. As they noticed, while documenting the symbols each sister had different symbols carved into their skin.

Finally that had all had their eyes removed and then their throats were cut.

There were other wounds all over their bodies, and many bruises indicating further torture before their deaths.

They would have to wait until Doc Robbins performed the autopsies but it was almost certain that the girls, even the youngest had been sexually assaulted. In all the girls had gone through Hell before they had been granted the peace of death.

Grissom finally turned to one of the deputies and held out his hand for the crow bar that had been retrieved earlier at Grissom's request. He had already wrapped each of the nail heads with tape to protect and marks that might be important and used the crow bar to gently pull the nails out of each of the girl's limbs.

It was slow, painful work but eventually they had freed each of the victims from the floor and finally Grissom turned to David and said, "Ok, David, they're ready."

David nodded imperceptibly and called upstairs for the paramedics to come down that would help him move the bodies onto the gurneys and out of the house.

As he was waiting David turned to Grissom and said, "Grissom I just want to apologize for…" he didn't get to finish as Grissom interrupted him and said, "I understand David, believe me I do."

That was, David realized all that needed to be said. He let the subject drop, gratefully.

Grissom suddenly became aware of a presence in the room and saw Sara coming down the stairs, her kit in hand. She hugged the wall to stay out of the way as she approached him and Catherine.

Even from a distance Grissom could tell she was just holding it together. She was putting on a strong front. No doubt about it and he doubted anyone else would be able to tell, but he knew her better than anyone else, and he could see the stress in her features as whatever she was feeling ate away at her gut with the ugliness of it.

He made his way over to her and glanced quickly around the room before laying a steadying hand on her shoulder. To anyone else it would look he was further guiding her out of the way of the paramedics as he spoke to her.

Catherine Willows however was far from anyone else. She had known Gil Grissom a long time and she'd know Sara a long time too. She wasn't sure what was going on between the two, other than the fact that they were sleeping together, not that she cared.

She was happy that her friend, both her friends in fact, had finally found someone that they could open up to. The two were so alike that it was frightening at times. And although Gil had developed a thick enough skin that he didn't let the loneliness of his life bother him much anymore Sara didn't have that yet.

She was glad that her friend would probably now never need to develop it either. Something told her that this thing between them was for good, and she couldn't feel anything but happiness for them.

No what was bugging her was that she was sure that something else was going on as well. She didn't know what it was but she knew that it had something to do with the trouble sleeping she used to hear Sara complain about over the years. Something somehow had changed about it and she didn't know what.

What she did know was that Gil was growing slowly, but increasingly more protective of Sara, especially the last couple of months. If he didn't stop and soon other people that didn't know them as well, and would care that they were sleeping together were going to start to notice, and that was a road she didn't want them to have to go down.

She made a silent promise to herself to speak to them both when she got the chance, and soon. First she needed to finish processing the scene.

*****

Gil looked at Sara and asked her, "Are you alright?"

Sara shook her head, "Something…something's wrong. This place it feels…I can't describe it."

Gil looked at her in sympathy, "This place is a slaughter house Sara, I'm not surprised that your feelings are going crazy."

"That's just it," she said as she nodded to David as he went by, "I've been in bad scenes since I started getting feelings along with the visions. I wasn't this effected by them. Why now?"

"I don't know Sara," Gil said, not wanting to be having this conversation here and now. "We're still flying pretty blind when it comes to your visions and empathy; I guess we can call it. Maybe it's getting stronger, maybe it was the brutal nature of what happened here I don't know."

Sara shook her head, "I can't be here right now, I just can't."

Gil nodded his head in understanding, "Ok, I need someone to start processing some of this evidence anyway. I might have sent Greg since he doesn't seem to be doing to well either, although for different reasons. You can go instead."

"Send us both," Sara said, "That way it won't look like you're singling anyone out. He and Warrick are almost done upstairs, or just about anyway."

Grissom nodded, "Ok, go get some air, take a break. I'll talk to Greg and Warrick and make sure they're about finished and then I'll send you both back with some of what we've collected, ok?"

Sara nodded, picked up her kit and headed upstairs.

Gil watched her go and then turned and went back over to Catherine, "I'm going to send Sara and Greg back to the lab to start working through some of this evidence. You and I are still going to be here a little while and she didn't find anything on the second floor, and Greg and Warrick are about through."

Catherine nodded, "Sounds like a plan, what about Nick and Warrick?"

Grissom thought about it for a second and then said, "I'll get them to talk to the neighbors, see if anyone heard anything. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Catherine looked around the crime scene and said sadly, "It's to bad they didn't get lucky."

Grissom couldn't help but nod his agreement at her simple statement before heading upstairs to see Greg.

*****

Grissom found Greg sitting in the living room, obviously trying to get himself together. Warrick was standing by to give his friend his silent support. Grissom nodded for Warrick to give them a moment and he kneeled down next to Greg.

Greg looked at him and said, "Sorry, boss. I shouldn't have let it bother me like that."

Grissom shook his head, "There's nothing wrong with being effected by what we do Greg. It's a hard job we have and sometimes what we see is going to get to us. If it didn't we wouldn't be human. I'm proud of the way you handled it. You kept your cool and your professionalism. It might have been obvious that you were bothered, but you didn't go running and screaming. You handled it fine."

"Thanks," the young man said simply.

Grissom nodded and said, "I need you and Sara to go back to the lab and start processing. I want to get a lead on this as soon as we can. The sooner we get the evidence into context the sooner we get whoever did this. Understand?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't let you down," Greg said with conviction.

"I never thought you would."

*****

Gil saw Sara come back into the house and if anything she actually seemed to look worse, although in addition to the underlying discomfort she had before now her features were marred by a mixture of confusion and a little fear.

Sara nodded to Greg and told him she'd see him outside in a minute. Greg nodded, and headed outside and Sara watched him go. When he was gone she turned back to Grissom and the older man asked, "What's wrong?"

Sara shook her head as if trying to clear it out and said, "I just saw two people outside in the crowd. There was something off about them."

"Do you think they were involved with this? Did you get a good description of them?"

"That's just it Grissom, one of them was a man wearing an eye patch, and the other was a woman with deep red hair. They definitely set off my feelings."

Grissom raises his eyebrow as his sharp mind quickly put pieces together, "The Pirate and Red Witch?" He asked disbelievingly.

Sara wasn't surprised he'd made the same leap that she had. He had been as involved in interpreting some of her dreams as she was and they had both started to develop a certain amount of confidence in interpreting the symbols in those dreams.

"Maybe it was just coincidence," Grissom said. Not sure who he was trying to convince, himself or her.

"I might think that too, but I felt like I was being watched and when I looked up they were both staring right at me. When they saw me looking back they took off so quick it had to be because I spotted them."

"Did you get a description of the car?" he asked.

"Pretty simple economy job, probably a rental. I didn't get the plate because they were too far away and they moved away from me when they left."

Grissom was definitely confused. They had always assumed that Sara's dreams involving characters like the Pirate and Red Witch, and the super powered Blonde were simply her mind cleansing itself.

They had never spent much time bothering to interpret them because of that reason. Now it seemed that maybe they had made a mistake and they were going to have to play catch up.

Grissom considered all this for a moment before he asked, "You didn't answer my other question. Do you think they were involved with this?"

Sara shook her head, "That's just it, when I looked up at them, and saw them I felt calm for the first time today."

Grissom seemed to think about her answer and finally said, "Well we'll have to worry about it later. Right now we've got evidence to process. Head back to the lab and I'll see you when I get there."

Sara nodded and headed out to get Greg.

After she left Grissom considered her words again. What did it all mean? What did the seeming arrival of two characters out of Sara's dreams mean, and what did it mean that they calmed her?

It was yet another mystery for Grissom amongst many more. The only thing was, for some reason he wasn't so sure he wanted the answers.

*****

Xander and Willow headed back to their hotel as soon as they left the neighborhood where the murders had taken place. Xander was driving and had Willow checking behind them to ensure that their apparent law enforcement spy wasn't following them. To say they were shocked to find the person that apparently had been spying on them since Sunnydale became Lake Sunnydale, at the scene of an obviously dark ritual murder scene was troubling to say the least.

"This is bad Xander," Willow said, "This is very, very bad. What if it's another thing like the Mayor? What if she's using her position to avoid detection for whatever it is that she's up to?"

"That would be bad, Willow, but we're not high school students anymore. It's not like we don't have the resources to take care of her if that's the case."

Willow couldn't help but agree as she finally turned facing forward in the passenger seat, pulling down the visor to shield her eyes from the late mid-morning sun.

"The thing is," Xander said, getting her attention once again, "She didn't look to good. Did you see her face?"

Willow shook her head so Xander continued, "She looked sick to her stomach, like she was really uncomfortable."

"Maybe she was acting?" Willow suggested, "Trying to make herself look as unlikely as possible?"

Xander considered that then shook his head, "She's a woman in law enforcement, Wills. A historically male job," he glanced slightly at his friends scowling features, sometimes it was a real pain working in 'Girl Power' central.

"It's not an insult Wills, it's the truth. Law enforcement is typically a man's job just because that's what most people think. The last thing a woman would want to do is present the appearance that she couldn't handle it. If she's been with them for a while then she's had to of seen plenty of crime scenes. Probably some pretty bad ones. So why would she look as uncomfortable as she did. I don't think she was faking."

"So what does that tell us?" Willow asked, deferring to Xander's more intimate knowledge of people. When you watch people for as long as Xander has, you start to know what you're looking at.

"It means that I don't think she was involved in what happened in there. It also means that whatever it was was bad enough that a person that's used to seeing the bad things in the world was made sick by it."

"So where does that leave us?" Willow asked.

Xander shook his head, "I don't know. We need to call Giles."

*****

As soon as the pair returned to their suite Willow immediately cast a privacy spell while Xander dialed the Watcher's Council in England.

Giles was the head honcho now of the Council and for the first time since its creation the Council was being run to serve the Slayers, rather than the other way around.

The phone was picked up on the second ring, "Rupert Giles office, how may I help you?"

Xander smiled as he recognized the voice, "Oh I don't know rug rat, how about you let me talk to grand-pappy?"

"Xander!" the voice on the other end squealed in delight from the other end. It was so loud to his enhanced hearing he actually wiggled his finger in his ear to try and clear the ringing.

"How are you doing, Rebecca?"

Rebecca was one of the Slayers Xander had discovered in South Africa. Her family had migrated from Europe in the 40's and been there ever since. Xander had discovered a plot by a bunch of demons to eliminate the thirteen year old neophyte Slayer and had moved to stop it. Unfortunately he'd gotten there too late for her parents. It had been a long six months as she came to terms with her parents' death but she was starting to come out of it. Naturally, like all the Slayers that knew him, Rebecca loved Xander to death.

"I'm doing fine Xander, and you know Giles hates it when you call him Grand-pappy."

"You're point?" the one-eyed man asked.

There was another giggle from Rebecca and she put Xander on hold for a moment.

Xander grinned at Willow and held up five fingers. Willow frowned at him as he dropped them one by one. Willow got that he was counting down and just as he got to one…

"Xander must you encourage the Slayers with your ridiculous nicknames. Do you realize that nearly half these girls are now referring to me as 'Grand-pappy Giles??? '"

"I must Giles, you know me. Nicknames are my thing."

There was a long suffering sigh on the other end and Xander could just see his father rubbing the bridge of his nose as his temple throbbed. Finally after a moment Giles controlled, frustrated voice asked, "What are you calling for? I thought you and Willow were tracking our spy problem in Las Vegas."

"Hi Giles," Willow said, finally losing her battle with the laughter she had been trying to control. It was a well known battle of wills between the Head of the new Council of Watchers and the one eyed former carpenter turned warrior.

Willow didn't tell them but there was actually a betting pool going on whether Giles had a heart attack in frustration or broke and finally strangled his surrogate son.

"Hello Willow," Giles said in greeting, "Is there a problem?"

"We are Giles, and things have hit a little snag," Willow began.

For the next twenty minutes the two Scoobies gave a detailed report on what had happened since their arrival.

After a few moments, in which Willow and Xander could practically hear Giles cleaning his glasses in thought.

Finally Giles said, "I'll put the research team on this immediately. But they're going to need more information."

"Great," Xander said, "Dawn will love this puzzle."

"I'm sure she will, and she'll be there probably tomorrow," Giles said.

Willow and Xander looked at one another, then Xander asked, "Why is she coming here Giles?"

"She said she wanted to take some of her vacation time and visit with you two. Plus she wanted the answer to this mystery as well. I'm sure you'll have no problem explaining to her that she's going to have to work on her vacation," the smile in Giles' voice is unmistakable.

"She's going to be pissed," Willow said unnecessarily.

Xander suddenly looked uncomfortable. He might be empowered but Dawn Summers had definitely inherited her sister's ability to scare the living hell out of people.

Xander shook off the uncomfortable thought and said, "Well I'll worry about Dawn tomorrow. I'm going to try getting into that house tonight, see if I can get any more information for you."

"Be careful Xander," Giles said.

"No worries, Giles," Xander said with a grin.

"You forget Xander, I know you," Giles retorted good naturedly.

Willow took advantage of Xander's momentary shock and said, "Bye Giles."

"Bye Willow."

With that the call ends.

Xander turns to Willow and says, "Man, I can't believe Giles is going to sick Dawn on me."

"Well maybe that will teach you not to call him names anymore."

The two look at one another for a moment before breaking out into laughter.

"So you going to go with me tonight?" Xander asks after they get themselves under control.

"I don't think so," Willow says after a moment. "There's nothing I can learn in the house that I didn't feel from outside. Even as sensitive to magic as I am I still need to see the symbols if there are any. And one person has less of a chance of being caught than two."

Xander nodded at the reasonableness of this. Willow was extraordinary with magic but she still sucked at stealth. Sure she could cast a spell to keep her movement silent but if the things you're trying to sneak up on are magically sensitive, using magic to increase your stealth is akin to holding a magnesium flare in the middle of the night.

"Ok," Xander said, "Well let's see what we can find out about our friend."

Willow nodded and pulled out her computer and began the dance would hack her into the LVPD mainframe.

*****

Most people would find the arduous task of examining evidence to be a boring and mundane occupation. Of course that's why most people didn't work in evidence processing labs.

Grissom was in his office going over some evidence when there was a knock at the door. He looked up from his computer to see Catherine standing in his doorway.

"Can we talk," she asked, looking uncharacteristically uncertain. Grissom didn't know what she wanted to talk about. He was, amazingly enough, caught up on all his paper work. He'd gotten the reviews in on time and had even put Catherine in for a raise.

A spark of concern ran through his mind as he considered the possibility that she wanted to leave the team.

She had wanted a supervisor position for a long time. She was tired of working the night shift and wanted to spend time in the daylight with her daughter.

For a while she'd had exactly what she wanted, and when she went, she'd taken Warrick and Nick with her.

It was only after Nick's kidnapping last year that he was able to convince her and Ecklie that the team was better together than separated. She'd seemed happy. Her daughter, Lindsey was now a grown up thirteen and needed space that her mother was happy to give her.

Their relationship was finally healing after the strained years that had followed the death of Lindsey's father, Catherine's ex.

Grissom was suddenly concerned that he'd again fallen into old patterns and not been paying close enough attention to his people and had missed something. He tamped down on that feeling as he said, "Sure, come on in Catherine."

Catherine did as bid and closed the door as she entered. She sat down across from Grissom and he pushed his work aside, giving her his undivided attention. Determined to fix whatever was wrong.

*****

Catherine stared at him for a few minutes, and considered what she wanted to say. She'd been thinking about it since she'd seen them at the crime scene. Her plan to put it off just wasn't going to work because it was bothering her too much. She needed to get it done and over with like ripping off a band-aid, rather than sit there and have it eating away at the back of her mind.

She looked Grissom right in the eye, leaned in and said, as gently and softly as she knew how, "I want to know what's going on with you and Sara, other than you're sleeping with her I mean."

It was a calculated risk, saying it so bluntly. She didn't know for sure that they were sleeping together, and a statement like that was the kind that someone could take serious offense to. It was the kind of question that could end a friendship.

Fortunately, as Gil Grissom developed the unmistakable expression of one that had just been pole axed Catherine wasn't worried that she was wrong. Suddenly she was worried because apparently she was very much right.

It was going to be a long conversation.

*****

Greg, Nick, and Warrick were in one of the labs running some of the fluids for DNA. Greg is still shaken at what he'd seen and Warrick and Nick were both there to offer moral support to the younger man. Warrick had seen the scene as well and knew how bad it was. Nick had only heard about it from Warrick but knew how bad it had been from some of the crime scene photos he had looked at. Neither one of them could blame Greg for his reaction.

"I just never thought a scene could ever be that bad," Greg said as he watched the machine process the fluids for DNA.

"If it helps," Warrick said, "that's as bad as it gets. I've never seen a scene like that and I don't think I'll ever see one again."

"I don't think any of us will," Nick said. "Luckily for us, there just aren't that many people in the world capable of something like that."

"Yeah," Greg said, as the machine finished and he got a print out. He looked at the information, confusion written over his features.

"Are you sure that stuff was biologic?" Greg asked.

Warrick seemed almost affronted by the question and said, "It tested as biologic, why?"

Greg shook his head, "Because I've got no DNA, that's why."

They all looked at the print out together and saw it was showing an error.

"Are you sure you ran it right?" Warrick asked unnecessarily. Greg might be a bit of a clown sometimes but he did his job right. He gave Greg an apologetic look and Greg waved him off.

"Well," Nick said, reexamining the printout, "let's run it through trace and see what it's made of. Maybe we can figure out why it appears biologic but there's no DNA in it."

*****

Dr. Albert 'Al' Robbins had been a Coroner for a long time. He hadn't ever expected to get into Pathology, but sometimes life takes you in directions you never expect. Still, he'd moved up quickly both in his previous job in Virginia and now in Las Vegas. He had a family he loved, and that loved him back, and he had the freedom both personally and professionally to persue his own interests.

Not bad for a kid with no father.

Still, sometimes, his job really made him wish he'd never left his clinic in Baltimore.

This was one of those times.

It wasn't that he was a skittish man. He'd seen plenty of examples of the inhumanity of man his entire life. Not that it had left him jaded, simply accepting of the evil that men do. Still, as he finished the final autopsy on the Lawson family he really questioned whether humanity was really worth the effort of saving.

He pulled off his gloves and removed the smock he wore, walking slowly on his crutch to his office, and sitting heavily.

When David had come in with the six bodies from the Lawson family murders he'd already heard scuttlebutt from a few people about the particularly vicious nature of the attack.

Still hearing about it could not prepare him for what he found as he did the autopsy, nor could it prepare him for how horrifying the truth of what was done to those innocent little girls.

He looked at the pictures of his own family; his eyes naturally hovering over the pictures of his daughter.

He pulled himself away from the dark place his mind was wandering and picked up the phone in his office, dialing the lab number from memory. He gave a message to be delivererd to Grissom that the autopsies had been completed.

He hung up the phone and looked at the clock on his wall, eight-thirty in the evening, he'd been working going on thirteen hours now. His legs were tired and so was he, tired right to his bones.

*****

Gil walked into the morgue with most of the team; Greg had elected to stay behind. Obstinsibly it was because he wanted to figure out the minor mystery of the fluid that had no DNA but had tested positive for blood and as biological.

It was a bit unusal to have so many people at one autopsy but Grissom wanted to make sure everyone knew first hand what they were up against.

Doc Robbins came into the morgue from his office and paused briefly at the greater than usual number of people but he didn't say anything.

He moved up to the body of the father and said, "The autopsies on the father, mother, and son were performed by one of the assistant Coroners. I took care of the three girls."

Everyone nodded, understanding that Robbins would wanted to have handled what had to be a difficuly autopsy himself. It was one of the responsibilities as head coroner. Still, none of them envied this particular set of autopsies.

Robbins continued after reviewing the information one more time.

"Each of the three victims died in an identical fashion, single penetrating trauma to the forehead."

"Small caliber?" Warrick asked.

Robbins shook his head, "That's what Michaels thought as well, but when he excised the brain there were no bullet fragments. Whatever went into these peoples' head came back out again."

He looked over the shocked expressions before continuing, "I had Michaels send some of the tissue to trace to see if they can get any microscopic residue from the weapon. Whatever it was, was sharp, hard, and strong. It penetrated with incredible force, so you're looking for someone strong. Hopefully trace can tell you more."

Robbins moved down the rest of the body and said, "Other than that Mr. Lawson, like his wife and his children was a healthy human being who could have lived a long life. No evidence of any other trauma, and I've got tox and pending, but I found no unidentifiable substances in either his stomach or intestinal track."

"So cause of death is penetrating trauma to the brain."

Everyone nodded and seemed to steel themselves for the next part as Robbins moved towards the table that held the eldest daughter.

Robbins took up his place and began, "If I didn't know that all of these bodies came from the same crime scene I'd think they were two unrelated crimes committed by two totally different people."

He looked to make sure he had everyone's attention and said, "As clinical and clean as the deaths of the mother, father and son is how brutal and seemingly messy the deaths of the three girls."

"Seemingly?" Grissom said.

Robbins nodded, "The cuts were made carefully, and the nails were driven into the limbs at a precise angle so as not to cause any severe bleeding. Whoever did this knew what they were doing and did it so it would cause the maximum amount of pain with little to no blood loss. They wanted these girls to suffer, and they didn't want them to die until they were ready for it."

"You believe there was more than one killer?" Nick asked as he tried memorized the cuts in the body of the girl before him. It disgusted him to look at them but he wanted to remember them after he left the morgue. He wanted to remember why they needed to get the animals that did this and quickly.

"I've told Grissom before," Robbins said, answering Nick's question, "Incision analysis isn't an exact science and would never hold up in court. Still I believe you can tell a lot about someone by how they cut. In this case the cuts, while similar vary from symbol to symbol in depth and hesitation. Each symbol is consistent to itself, but different from symbol to symbol. Also some of the symbols have obvious hesitiation marks while others don't."

"So maybe someone is breaking in someone new to their sick game?" Sara said, disgusted at the prospect.

"Possibly," Robbins said.

"That doesn't make sense," Warrick said, entering the discussion for the first time. "I already ran this through the data bases. Nothing like this is popping up anywhere."

"That doesn't make sense," Catherine said, "This can't be the first time for these guys."

"Hold on everyone," Grissom said, now realizing why it wasn't a good idea to have this many people in the room at once, "Let's let him finish. We'll argue M.O. and everything else when we get back to the lab."

When everyone quited down Grissom nodded to Dr. Robbins who continued.

"Cause of death was exsanguination due to complete severing of the carotid artery." Robbins finished.

"What about the eyes?" Sara asked.

Robbins shrugged, "The eye sockets show a minimum amount of trauma and the lids weren't cut. Whoever took the eyes knew what they were doing and how to do it quick and clean."

"But why?" Catherine asked.

Robbins shrugged, "That's your department not mine."

Grissom nodded, "Thanks, you'll send the full autopy reports over when they're ready?"

Robbins nodded as the team moved out of the room. Grissom hung back, sensing that Al wanted to say something privately.

After they were alone the aged coroner said, "I've seen a lot of monsterous things in my time Gil, both here and in Virginia, but I've never seen anything like this. Not ever. Find these people because I don't want to do another one of those," he indicated the autopsy table that held the remains of Michelle Lawson.

Grissom didn't respond, he just nodded heavily and moved out of the room. Al Robbins watched his friend go and then went to find David to get his help in getting these people out of his sight as quick as possible.

*****

Once out in the hallway Grissom said, "I assume no one's going home tonight?"

Everyone shook their head in the negative so Grissom said, "Ok, Well meet back at the lab in a couple hours go get something to eat or whatever just take a little break. We're waiting for lab results anyway. When we get them we hit it hard."

Everyone nodded and moved out. Grissom knew that even though he'd given them a couple hours that they'd probably be back in less than one. Still, he needed them to get out for just a little while to decompress and get it out of their system.

Gil turned to Sara and said, "I'm going to work on something you want to help?"

Sara shook her head, "No actually I think I'm going to get something to eat, you want anything?"

"You know what I like," Gil said, smiling slightly.

Sara nodded back and then moved down the hall.

Grissom looked at Catherine and asked her, "So where you going to go?"

Catherine snorted and said, "Same place as you."

Grissom nodded and the two friends moved towards his office to start working what they had.

*****

Sara hated lying to Gil but if she told him she was going back to the crime scene he would have probably insisted on going with her or sending one of the others with her instead.

She didn't want that, she needed to be alone.

She justified herself by remembering that she was going to get some food for her and Grissom eventually. She just needed to make a quick stop first.

Something had been bugging her since she'd left and she needed to go back and try and figure out what it was.

Slowly, Sara made her way to the house, having parked her car down the block slightly, not wanting to call attention to herself by parking in front of the house.

As she got out of the SUV she froze in her tracks. She had glanced just up the street and saw a car that looked exactly like the car she had seen the two people jump into earlier in the day.

She wasn't sure of course but as she moved closer she saw that indeed this car was a rental, just as she suspected the one earlier had been.

Deciding that she wasn't going to ignore a strange coincidence she immediately got back in her SUV and called Brass.

Naturally he'd been pissed when she told him where she was, having had to chew her ass before about taking unnecessary risks.

Sara pointed out to the Captain that this time she wasn't going in on her own and trying to be a hero. She was calling for back up and letting him know what she thought was going on.

Brass let it go for the moment and instead told her he was rolling back up that would be there in a few moments to sit on the car until he arrived. He told her not to do anything until the back up got there.

The backup arrived a few minutes later as promised but it had seemed much longer to her.

The two patrol cars took positions a few hundred meters in each direction from the suspect vehicle. The idea was that they would effectively be able to block the driver in if they tried to leave, but at the same time they were well hidden in the dark and wouldn't be seen till it was too late.

About ten minutes later Jim arrived looking more grim than usual. He held out a piece of paper as he started speaking, "Car's registered to Enterprise. According to their records it was rented by an "Alexander Harris earlier today. Here's his picture I got from his license."

Sara looked at it and paled, there, string back up at her was a one eyed man wearing an eye patch. She looked at Brass and said, "That's the person I saw earlier today."

Brass looked at her and said, "And you didn't say anything earlier because?"

Sara didn't have an answer for him and he said, "Right, we're going to have a talk about this later, you know that right?"

Sara nodded and said, "But not now."

Brass nodded his head, "Not now."

He got on his radio and said, "Units move in."

With that simple command the night came alive with sirens and lights as a SWAT team quickly pulled to the front of the house and moved in.

A few tense moments later the call came over the radio, "Suspect secure."

Brass nodded to Sara and the two moved towards the house as SWAT brought the man out. As the exited and the man locked eyes with first Brass and then Sara she saw the momentary shock cross his features before he schooled his face into a calculated look of indifference.

Brass took the lead and said, "Mr. Harris, care to explain what you were doing in a crime scene?"

Alexander Harris just looked at the Captain and said, "Would you believe me if I told you I was looking for a cup of sugar?"

Brass just looked at him and then at the uniformed officers that were holding him and said, "Get him out of here."

There was a chorus of 'yes sir's' and then Harris was put in the back of a squad car that moved away quickly.

After the suspect was gone Brass looked at Sara and said, "You better get back to the lab, Grissom is looking for you."

She wasn't sure how, but that simple statement was enough to nearly make her knees collapse as she thought of how pissed her boss, her lover was going to be.

Like a condemned person headed for execution Sara Sidle made her way to her car and back to the CSI lab.


	4. Chapter 4

4. Little Truths, Little Lies

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

When word hit that Captain Brass had apprehended a suspect in the Lawson family massacre there was nearly as much pandemonium as the time the lab had exploded. People were all clamoring to be nearby so they could see what kind of monster had been involved. Most of the people in the lab had heard about the killings by this point. Some had heard nothing but rumors while others had been exposed to aspects of the case as they assisted the night shift in processing the evidence.

So there was no one in the lab that didn't know about what had happened to the family, and what it could mean to have captured someone. Inevitably the press would soon be all over the place but not before they had the suspect in an interrogation room.

Grissom had been in his office with Catherine going over crime scene photos when they heard the news.

Grissom had nearly exploded when he heard that Sara had been the one to originally call Brass because she herself had been at the crime scene.

Catherine's presence and a calming hand had been the only thing that kept him from tearing out of his office and looking for Sara so he could hug the stuffing out of her…right before he strangled the idiot girl.

Catherine was amused to hear her normally calm friend talk so passionately. It was out of character for him to say the least. Or maybe it wasn't, after all, she'd never seen him in love before.

And it was love. She could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice. She knew what that felt like, she knew what it looked like so she recognized it clearly. The only thing more amusing was she wasn't quite sure if Grissom really understood just how deep his feelings went.

Not that she thought he or Sara would jump into a relationship unless the feelings were deep, they had too much to lose for that. She just wasn't sure they were actually really aware of how far they'd really gone.

She watched as Grissom paced his office like one of Siegfried and Roy's prized cats as he waited for Brass to arrive with the suspect and Sara.

Finally after a half hour that seemed far longer the activity outside the lab increased exponentially and Grissom knew it was because they were here.

Greg poked his head into the office and said, "Brass and Sara are back. Brass has the guy in central booking. Told me to tell you he'd let you know when he's ready to start the interrogation."

Grissom nodded to Greg and said thanks to the younger man who immediately left afterwards.

Grissom looked at Catherine who smiled in support and sympathy before saying, "Just remember, wait until after work to have that conversation."

Grissom smiled and said, "Thank you, Catherine."

With that they both left the office and headed for interrogation, as they did Gil said, "Let's examine this guy's clothes and make sure someone's bringing the car in."

*****

Sara was in the observation room of interrogation when the rest of the team found her. She'd been moving around the lab trying to avoid Grissom as much as she could. It was made easier by the fact that she could feel him when he was nearby and she'd move to another part of the lab when she felt him getting close. She knew a confrontation with him was inevitable but she was hoping that the longer she put it off the calmer he'd be.

It was strange for her to see Grissom as emotional as he really was. Gil had spent his life shielding himself. He had, at least she believed, accepted his life was going to be one of loneliness and so to protect what was truly a compassionate and caring man he put up walls of cold professionalism that while not perfect, served well enough that he didn't appear to the outside world nearly as emotional as he really was.

She however knew him more intimately than probably anyone had in years and she knew the truth of just how emotional Gil Grissom really was. How he could easily let his emotions fuel him into actions that might not always be the right ones.

If he was as mad at her as she imagined he could very well do something that they'd both regret, hence the hiding plan.

Now after nearly two hours in which she'd been moving from lab to lab, and room to room it looked like the jig was up as she watched everyone file into room and look right at her.

As she looked at them she noticed that their reactions as they came into the room varied.

Greg looked at her with something akin to hero worship. Not something she felt like dealing with at the moment.

Warrick looked oddly concerned for her. That she could handle, Warrick was a softy when you got right down to it.

Nick on the other hand looked at her with a combination of disappointment and sadness.

Sara knew that he'd have a few words for her, probably harsh when he got the chance. The last time she'd done something like this he'd made a point of asking her if she'd ever had a gun pointed at her.

At the time she had dismissed it as misplaced bravado considering at the time, his recent brush with a gun in his face.

Now she started to realize that it wasn't bravado, it was real fear. He was afraid for her. Sara was sure he thought she was back to that place where she'd been the first time they talked about it.

At that moment she realized that she had really cut these guys off in the last few months. She had always been a bit distant, a bit guarded but she'd opened up to each of them to varying degrees over the years.

Since the realization of her ability however she'd thrown up the walls as solid as ever and she had ostracized what she realized were some of the most important people in her life.

These people were her family and it was about time she started treating them a little better.

That didn't mean she was going to tell them everything, but protecting her secret didn't mean she had to cut them out completely. She was going to have to find that happy medium and soon or she risked doing permanent damage to the friendships she'd developed.

Unfortunately for a woman that was a monument to extremes, she knew it was going to be a monumental task.

"How long has be been in there?" Greg asked, looking through the one way mirror at the man in question.

"About an hour," Sara said, "Brass had him take off his clothes and basically put him through all the hoops."

"Probably trying to rattle his cage," Nick said as he took his own place at the window looking at the man and trying to see the evil that had done what had been done in that house. The problem was he just didn't see it. Sometimes it still bothered him that the bad guys didn't have horns.

"Problem is, I don't think it's working," Sara said, not taking her eyes off of the suspect, "I've been sitting here watching him and he barely moves. At one point I think I saw him sleeping. He's way too relaxed."

"Could be a sociopath, they don't usually get very emotional about the things they do. No conscience, no guilt. So he wouldn't show and discomfort, maybe?" Greg ventured. Psychology wasn't his thing but from what he'd read it could be a possibility.

"Sociopaths usually have anger issues. I don't see a sociopath being as calm as he was when he was arrested," Sara said.

The room feel into a more or less comfortable silence as the team watched and waited.

The silence was broken when the door to the observation room opened again and Grissom and Catherine came in.

Sara had to actually control herself and stop from taking a step back when she saw the look in Grissom's eyes. He looked ready to chew nails just so he could spit them at her and nail her to a wall somewhere.

She had never seen him so angry.

Judging from the double take the look caused on Greg and Warrick she was certain that they hadn't either.

Grissom walked right up to her and said, "What did you think you were doing? We've talked about this before, remember?"

His voice was controlled; sounding exactly like a supervisor's voice should sound but his eyes, held a pain and fear that almost broke her heart. She had to cover herself and instead of asking his forgiveness then and there covered with her usual confrontational attitude. She just hoped he saw through it.

"I didn't go there looking for him, I just went back to get a feel for what it had been like at night. I didn't go anywhere near the house when I saw the car, and I called for backup what more do you want?"

"How about you follow procedure? In case you forgot," Grissom said in a voice like ice, "the reason you're in Vegas in the first place is because of a CSI being alone at a crime scene."

Sara winced at the statement as well as the tone as did Warrick. It was a low blow and the thoughtlessness of the statement was a testament to Grissom's state of mind at the moment.

The cold tone he was using was equivalent to full throated screams from anyone else. The entire team looked decidedly uncomfortable with the situation and most of them were suddenly looking at the two people with confusion, as if sensing there was something more going on that they didn't know about, 'Great job Grissom,' Sara thought, 'Why don't you just announce to the whole lab that we're sleeping together.'

Amazingly it was Catherine that came to the rescue and the way the older woman looked at Sara told her that Catherine already knew about them both. For a moment she wondered if Gil had told her but she quickly dismissed that thought. Grissom was a private person and the last thing he would do is tell someone about his love life.

No, Catherine must have figured it out on her own which meant the rest of the team wasn't far behind and then from there the lab.

They were going to have to have a serious conversation about this and soon. There was no way Ecklie was going to let them remain on the same team if they were in a romantic relationship. Grissom was her supervisor and that kind of fraternization was absolutely forbidden.

They'd both be lucky if the only thing they received was some form of official reprimand for it.

She was about so say something else when they heard the door to the room open one more time and Brass poked his head in and said, "We're ready you coming?"

The statement was obviously directed at Grissom who gave Sara one more piercing look before he breathed heavily once and pulled himself together fully. Looking like the calm detached professional that he projected in nearly every facet of his daily life. Two seconds later you would have never been able to tell how pissed he had been.

Grissom turned to Brass and asked, "What did you find out Jim?"

"Something about this guy just bugged me so I decided to let him cool his jets a little while so I could do some digging. I'm glad I did because now I think we're going to have a little more leverage with our friend in there."

Brass smiled a little viciously as he opened the file he had in his hand and said, "We've got one very interesting character."

"Alexander Lavelle Harris, born October 15th, 1981. Place of birth, Sunnydale, California."

Brass glanced up and saw he had everyone's undivided attention. When an entire town had sunk into the ground back on '03 it had caused a stir around the nation. What had really surprised a lot of people was the fact that the town had been nearly deserted at the time. No one had ever officially ordered an evacuation but still the people had evacuated.

Eventually the story, like all stories, faded from the newspapers and televisions and was forgotten, until now.

Brass continued with his biography, "Mother: Jessica Harris, Deceased. Father: Anthony Harris, Deceased. Only other living relative I could find listed was a Rory Harris, location unknown."

Brass turned the page, "According to what I was able to find out starting about 1996 Harris' name started showing up almost weekly in police reports as either a witness to a crime or being listed as a 'person of interest'."

"96?" Nick said, "He'd of been what? Fifteen?"

Brass nodded, "Yup, and from what I've been able to find he's been a suspect in everything from vandalism and larceny all the way up to Terrorism and murder."

"Terrorism?"

"Murder?"

Nick and Greg asked at the same time.

Brass nodded, "His high school blew up at his graduation. It was ruled a suspicious explosion with possibility of a gas leak. I talked to a guy that worked the force in Sunnydale though and he tells me that they were almost positive that the explosion was caused by this Harris character and a gang he hung with but they weren't able to pin it on him since there wasn't enough left to investigate."

"And the murder?" Grissom asked.

"According to the guy from Sunnydale I talked to several people were killed in the resulting explosion. That, combined with a terrorist act, makes it murder one."

"So why is he still free?" Nick asked, angered at what he was hearing, "Who was this guy you talked to?"

Brass checked his notes, "Guy's name was Stein, and apparently he was a detective in Sunnydale while all this was going on. According to him, the Sunnydale PD was in the middle of some form of scandal, involving cover ups and the mayor. Incidentally the mayor was also killed at graduation and they had reports of him visiting Harris and his gang in the library of the high school shortly before graduation."

Brass stopped to go over in his head what the detective had told him before going on, "Some thought that the mayor and these people Harris was mixed up with were into something together. However the problem was that the whole town wanted to just forget the whole incident. By the time FBI and ATF got wind of it and went in to investigate there was no evidence to be found. This guy sounded pissed that he was never able to nail Harris or his accomplices. I was lucky to get a hold of the guy; had to call in quite a few favors to track him down. As it was he had his own investigation he was in the middle of and had to go. He was sounding skittish so I let him but he said he'd answer my questions later."

"Skittish?" Sara asked, finally having the nerve to join the conversation.

"Yeah, and he wasn't the only one. I found nearly half a dozen cops or former cops that had worked in Sunnydale and most of them as soon as I mentioned the name Harris just hung up on me. I didn't have much time to pursue it but you better believe I'm going to get hip deep in this as soon as we're done with this guy."

Grissom nodded, Brass hated a mystery almost as much as he did. Finally Grissom said, "Well according to the evidence we collected from his clothes and the car we've got nothing right now that we can use to conclusively prove he was involved. I'm not sure we can hold him."

Brass looked aggravated and said, "This guy thinks he's a tough guy, let's see how tough he is when we tell him he's looking to go down for six counts of murder one. Bet he gives us his partners in exchange for avoiding the needle."

Grissom shook his head unsure but he followed Brass out of the room and into interrogation.

*****

Xander sat in the interrogation room, seemingly oblivious to the world outside of it. In reality he was fully aware of everything that was going on around him. He could hear the people shuffling around outside, each trying to get a look at him to see what he looked like.

He knew that most if not all of them out there thought he was somehow involved in the atrocity that had taken place in that house. Moving from room to room he could smell the blood, terror, and sorrow everywhere and it took every bit of self control he'd had not to roar in fury at it.

It was because his senses had been so overwhelmed he hadn't heard the police moving around outside until it was too late to get out of there without hurting a few of them.

Two or three years ago he might have done it; having an extremely jaded view of law enforcement personnel due to his life in Sunnydale.

Time changed a man however and he'd learned over the last couple of years working with various cops, agents, and the like that not all cops were cowards and fools. In fact he'd grown to really respect the people that worked everyday to protect people from the all too human evil that existed.

It was for that reason alone that he'd allowed himself to be taken without a fight. It wasn't a big deal after all; they had their cover well rehearsed by this time.

The only reason he hadn't said anything when he'd first been arrested was he wanted to see how this played out given the monkey wrench that was their spy.

Sure he had told Willow that he didn't believe this Sara Sidle was involved in this but even he'd been known to be wrong. Just because he was the "One Who Sees", and wouldn't he love to shove that up Caleb's evil ass, he could still be wrong.

If this woman was involved then giving them the cover story would probably do nothing but get him killed and quick, or at least she'd try…probably.

No, better instead to play innocent bystander and see what happens. He might be able to learn something that these people didn't know they know.

Willow had been less than enthused with his plan when he'd contacted her via the telepathic link that she insisted they establish before he went out. She wanted to make the phone calls that would get him released before he'd even arrived at the station but Xander had talked her out of it.

They needed, he'd told her, to do it this way. They had to see what these people knew and they had to make sure that their little spy wasn't the enemy on this one. Willow hadn't been happy about it but she'd agreed. She'd also told him that she'd be listening in and if she even thought he was in trouble she was coming to get him.

That thought gave him a momentary shudder since he still clearly remembered the last time Willow went looking to bust someone out of jail.

So he waited, and he listened.

Finally his patience paid off as he heard the argument take place on the other side of the one way mirror. It was, he was sure, supposed to be soundproof. But soundproof, he'd learned was a relative concept. When your hearing was sharp enough that you could, if you concentrated, make out the subtle vibrations of the glass, you could hear bits and pieces of a conversation.

In this case enough to tell him that whatever else was going on, this woman was well thought of by the people she worked with.

No one's boss reacted that way unless they were worth it.

Finally he had to stop trying to listen in. One of the draw backs of trying to tune into one sense like that was that it gave him a hell of a headache…it was like trying to read print that was too small. Sure, you might be able to make it out if you squinted hard enough, but eventually you're going to tire your eyes out and probably suffer for your efforts.

So instead Xander relaxed and allowed his mind to wander over what he'd seen. There was no doubt that it had been a summoning ritual of some kind. The three girls an offering to whatever demon the murderer had been trying to appease. He recognized a few of the markings on the floor, things like power, but he was really going to need to leave the full translating to Willow and Dawn, when she arrived. He was good at what he did and he knew enough to recognize magic symbols and the gist of what they were saying but it still wasn't his forte.

Xander watched the two men enter the room and quickly categorized them.

The one on the left, brown hair, receding hair line, he knew that was Captain Jim Brass. He'd been at his arrest.

Of course even if he hadn't known that he'd of still known the guy was a cop. He had the look, he had the mannerisms. His eyes were calculating and he had hardness about him.

The other man was about the same height and relative size, and had a similar calculating look in his eye but the similarities ended there.

This man's eyes were also inquisitive and warm, although they weren't too warm at this particular moment, the way he was looking at Xander. Of course that probably had something to do with the suspicion of murder that was hanging over Xander's head right now.

Being a suspect in a slaughter of children tended to turn people off, so Xander wasn't holding it against him.

The two men sat down and stared at Xander, who stared right back. He knew what they were doing; trying to make him nervous, make him feel like they didn't care about being here.

It was a common tactic Xander had seen used plenty of times in the past when he's worked with police.

Make the bad guy think you don't care and then when you offer him something, usually a deal, he feels like you're doing him a favor.

Xander was actually impressed with the casual air of indifference the two men were showing. If Xander was guilty of something, and didn't know any better it would definitely be working on him.

Finally they began, "Mr. Harris," the cop began, "I'm Captain Jim Brass, this is Gil Grissom of the crime lab. You're here to answer questions in regards to the murder of Michael and Amanda Lawson and their four children."

Brass studied the man as he looked up at him and said, "Xander."

Brass glanced at Grissom and said, "Excuse me?"

The suspect looked him right in the eye and said, "My name is Xander. You start saying 'Mr. Harris' and I start looking behind me to see if my worthless scumbag of a father has come back from the grave."

The words were said calmly, but there was no mistaking the venom in them.

Brass took hold of it and said, "Alright, Xander, why don't you tell us then. Was your daddy mean to you? I know he's dead and so is your mother. Some of the only people actually reported killed in the collapse of your home town. Let me guess you killed them and you got a taste for it. That's why you killed the Lawsons'?"

Xander shook his head, "I had nothing to do with their deaths, Captain Brass. Nothing at all."

"Your parent," Grissom asked, "or the Lawsons?"

"Any of them," Xander said simply.

"Right," Brass said, as he opened the file, "A guy with a colorful past like yours is at a crime scene not once, but twice, once illegally trespassing and its coincidence. Like the fact that you're missing one of your eyes and they had their eyes removed. All coincidence, right?"

Xander squinted at that; he hadn't even considered that. Of course he hadn't known that the eyes were removed so there was no way he could. Still it was another piece of information that they didn't have before.

Suddenly Xander stopped and asked, "What do you mean, 'colorful past'?"

Brass smiled and said, "What you didn't think people could find out about that?"

He opened the file he had and turned it so Xander could look at it. If he wasn't as disciplined as he was he'd of cussed, as it was, since he was just playing a part he did let one soft one escape his lips. This was definitely not going as he'd planned.

Neither he nor Willow had expected this guy to find out anything so quickly. These people were much more competent than Sunnydale PD. Xander realized that there was no way he was going to talk his way out of this and so telepathically signaled to Willow that she should make her phone call. He was going to need some help to get out of this hole he'd inadvertently found himself in.

*****

Willow had been listening from the moment the interrogation started. She typed away on her laptop examining the files on the two people with Xander as soon as she heard their names.

Brass was a good cop, formally working in New Jersey. He was a former Marine, although according to Xander "Once a Marine always a Marine", even she could hear the quotes around the statement.

He had a reputation as a hard honest cop that had moved to Las Vegas when he cleared out a bunch of dirty cops out of his department.

Whatever else this guy might be he wasn't a bad guy, and that was all they needed to know.

Gil Grissom, or rather Dr. Gil Grissom was an entomologist and one of the most respected experts in the field.

According to what Willow was able to find out he was instrumental in raising the Las Vegas crime lab into the number two slot in the country. Pretty impressive she thought.

He was a workaholic and very driven in his work; also easily considered a good guy.

Willow was at a loss for what they should do when Xander signaled that he needed her to get him out of this.

She couldn't help but giggle as his exact words were, 'Will, Harris luck is running true to form…helllpp!'

It was said with humor that both felt despite the circumstances. Even though she knew she should worry about what was going on she really couldn't worry about Xander's current predicament. It was kind of hard to worry about what was essentially a couple of local cops when you had the White House on speed dial.

She didn't use that number of course because that was about like using a pound of explosives to get rid of a fly. Instead she called someone she was a bit more familiar with.

The phone rang twice and was picked up by a pleasantly voiced woman, "Department of Homeland Security, how may I direct your call?"

"I'd like to speak to Riley Finn, please. It's urgent." Willow said.

"Who may I ask is calling?" the voice on the other end asked, slightly more guarded.

"Willow Rosenberg," was the simple reply.

*****

Margaret Simmons paled when she heard the name. Working the phones in a place like Homeland Security might seem exciting to some but for the most part Margaret's job was very dull.

She was just a glorified receptionist really. She answered calls and forwarded them to the right people.

There were only a few names that she had been given that when they called her phone she was to react like her job could decide the fate of the world. Willow Rosenberg was one of those people.

She quickly brought up the information on the location of Riley Finn and thanked the stars above that he was in his office, even though it was pushing three o' clock in the morning. Mr. Finn was known to keep very odd hours so his presence wasn't out of the ordinary. She quickly put the call through to Finn's office and then made the appropriate notes in the phone log.

After she was done she called down to her supervisor for a break. She didn't know who Willow Rosenberg was that she warranted an emergency clearance as high as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs but she was fairly certain she didn't want to know. All she did know was that right now she needed a cigarette.

*****

Riley Finn sat behind his desk working on computer and trying to stay awake. He was only thirty-four for crying out loud. But it wasn't the age it was the mileage and if anyone had put on mileage it was him.

Finally deciding he needed a break he stood and limped to his coffee machine. Filling his cup and hobbling back to his chair he sat down and began rubbing the painful knee joint that had finally taken him out of the action.

It had been a close call for his entire team; some of them hadn't even made it. He didn't complain about his own relatively mild injury. A permanent limp was a small price to pay considering some of the others; after all, his own wife had wound up permanently blinded as a result of that final mission almost three years ago.

If it hadn't been for the arrival of the Slayers, none of them would have made it out.

After the survivors had recovered to some degree they were offered positions at Homeland Security to take care of logistical support for the fight against the demons and vampires being run within the borders of the United States and its territories, with new cooperation from the New Council of Watchers.

Riley had been pretty shocked by that, but then he and Sam hadn't really stayed in the loop as to the goings on in Sunnydale. Hell, it was nearly six months after the fact that he'd heard about what had happened to Tara. By that time it just didn't seem appropriate.

Even after Buffy had tried to make contact with him to have the chip removed from "Ass-face" he still hadn't even tried to find out why. He trusted Buffy and that was the end of it.

Still, facing that part of his life still hurt and so even when his instincts had told him he should check on the old gang he'd ignored those instincts. So he ended up shocked as anyone else when he heard about the fall of Sunnydale.

He'd tried to get in contact with Buffy then but missions kept getting in the way.

Then came his and Sam's final mission and suddenly they were being pulled out of the fire by half a dozen girls that moved just like Buffy did.

While he and Sam were recovering a Liaison with the Defense Department and Homeland Security paid them a visit and laid out everything that had happened over the last year. The First, the near Armageddon, the destruction of the Council of Watchers, and the take over and recreation of the Council by Rupert Giles and the rest of the Survivors of Sunnydale.

Riley had been shocked when the liaison told him that the New Council had contacted the United States government and told them point blank that they needed and wanted to work with the government in containment and destruction of hostile demons and vampires.

Riley had figured the Initiative would have soured all of them towards the military to the point they'd never want anything to do with any of it.

The Liaison, a Major Paul Davis, had explained that the New Council, while extending the olive branch that the Old Council had once shoved back in the face of the United States when the Old Guard had been in charge had explained that although they were smart enough to know they needed worldwide cooperation to ensure that the world remained safe they wouldn't deal with the United States unless they had someone in charge that they knew they could trust to keep Slayers out of the hands of those that would use them for something other than what they were born to. That meant Riley Finn and his wife Samantha.

Riley had been honored and touched by the offer and it had turned out to be just what the two of them needed; something to look forward to as they recovered.

Riley had asked Davis at one point how and why he'd been tapped for this and Davis had been pretty cryptic but had said he was used to weird things and he was used to helping to protect them from the people that shouldn't get their hands on them.

Riley hadn't missed a slightly haunted look on the man's face and so he'd dropped it.

So now here he was almost three years later. He was in charge of an entire department of Homeland Security that only a handful of people in the world even knew existed. In fact the only time he'd had anything to do with anyone really official was about a year into his new job. Riley got word that someone on one of the Senate Intelligence Subcommittees was making noise about putting the Slayers under direct US military control.

The argument, this unnamed Senator was making was that they were too dangerous to be left around "normal" American citizens.

Riley was smart enough to know that what the guys had always feared was coming true. Someone had figured that Slayers would make great weapons. Riley knew this was an extraordinarily bad idea and so did the president.

Riley had been tasked with explaining why this was a bad idea. He'd tried unsuccessfully for weeks to figure out an argument that would be strong enough.

It was pointless, he realized to explain that their deal with the Council forbid this. If any of these people cared about deals this wouldn't be happening.

He considered pointing out that the Council had the power to cause a serious problem in the political relationship between America and Britain. But again he realized that wouldn't work because politics was like a circle. No matter how much the relationship might strain it'd never break.

Finally, Riley figured out that the only chance was to explain just how bad things could get. So he arranged a little demonstration, courtesy of Xander, who was the only one he told about the situation.

Xander had decided the direct approach was the best idea and so he'd flown quietly into the US and been picked up by Riley.

Over the course of that single night he broke into the house of every single one of the Committee's home and held an impromptu meeting that went something along the lines of "Touch the Slayers and you'll be gutted like a pig."

Riley felt it was a little more heavy handed than he liked, but it had been effective but not perfect. Although Riley heard that most of the members of the Committee were unwilling to even discuss Slayers one or two were still pushing; one in particular although Riley still wasn't able to find out his name.

Finally President Hayes did what Riley felt he should have done in the first place, although he understood the president wanted to avoid something so heavy handed:

A Presidential Executive Order had been produced shortly there after that declared Slayers a matter of the highest national security and anyone that attempted to interfere with them or anyone affiliated with them in any way, shape, or form would be considered a Clear and Present Danger to the National Security of the United States and would be dealt with accordingly…regardless of who they were.

After that all talk about Slayers ceased completely, and life had settled into a routine of sorts.

Sam worked as a go between with the New Council's base in Cleveland and Riley's department, spending a few days a month in Cleveland to get intelligence on demonic movements around the country and world. The information would then be routed to appropriate teams working for the British, French, and Australian governments. Each of which had their own anti-demon agencies.

Sam wasn't working now as she had recently had to take a leave of absence for the birth of their first child, a beautiful baby girl they'd named Tara after the soft spoken woman that had made such an impression on Riley that he had cried when he'd heard of her death.

In fact the only reason he wasn't home right now with his family, instead of trying to melt his eyeballs at three o'clock in the morning was that Sam had gone to visit her mother in Michigan and taken Tara with her.

He was lost in the picture of his wife and new daughter on his desk when his phone rang. He reached over and picked it up, "Finn."

His musings stopped and he was all business once again as soon as he heard the voice on the other end, "Riley, its Willow."

His heartbeat jumped nearly thirty beats a minute at those three words. Although he'd gotten much closer to the gang from Sunnydale in the last few years and social calls weren't out of the ordinary, no one makes social calls at three o'clock in the morning.

Thankfully the first words out of her mouth got his blood flowing normally again.

"This isn't an Apocalypse call."

Riley actually slumped in his chair and released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"What's up then Willow? You don't normally call for a social visit this late or early in the morning."

"Sorry Ri," Willow said, "But I need your help with a little law problem?"

"Oh what's up?" he asked curious.

"In a minute," Willow said giggling, "first how's my niece?"

"Oh she's your niece now is she?" Riley asked.

"Darn tootin'" the redhead said, causing Riley to laugh out loud. He'd forgotten, in all the time he'd been away from Sunnydale just how much he missed these people. They made life more interesting and made it worth even more to live it.

"Riley looked back at the picture and said, "Well your niece is in Michigan right now getting spoiled rotten by her grandparents. Sam and Tara should be back in town beginning of next week."

"Cool," Willow said, Riley was polite enough to pretend that he didn't hear the hitch in the woman's voice that still hung in her voice at the mention of her dead soul mate's name.

He knew she'd loved a Slayer by the name of Kennedy that had been killed last year. He also knew that if Tara, her Tara had suddenly come back from the dead, not impossible with this group, while she was still with Kennedy she would have left the Slayer so fast Kennedy might have suffocated from the vacuum created by the speed at which the redheaded witch left her.

Riley knew from personal experience having found and married his own soul mate that you only got as lucky as Willow had been with Tara once.

Pushing such thoughts away Riley remembered she'd said she needed some help and said, "What can I help you with Willow?"

Willow sighed, "Well it's like this."

She went on to explain the situation in Las Vegas as well as telling Riley about the mystery they might have finally been able to solve.

Riley considered what she was telling him and asked, "And you're both sure this woman isn't involved in this?"

"Xander's sure," Willow said, as if that was all that needed to be said.

For Riley it was and he said, "Ok, I'll make a phone call. You know this kind of thing wouldn't happen if you guys would just carry the I.D.'s we made up for you."

"Buffy thinks it'd make us too conspicuous flashing Homeland Security I.D.'s when we're trying to help solve an 'Occult Killing'." Willow said, using the new code phrase they'd all adopted to describe demonic activity. It was better than "gangs on PCP" but only marginally.

"As opposed to the conspicuousness of Xander being arrested?" Riley countered.

"You've got a point," Willow conceded. She was quiet for a few moments then asked, "How are you going to handle this. I can't think of any way that this can happen that won't cause questions."

Riley shrugged and said, "You two were on vacation, heard something funny and since it falls into your area of expertise you decided to investigate. You apologize for not going through proper channels but you're used to working independently etc. etc."

"Got it," Willow said, "Thanks Riley."

"No problem Willow," the former marine said seriously, "You guys need anything let me know. I can have a team to you in less than two hours if you give the word."

"Ohh, ohh.," Willow said, "Graham's team?"

Riley almost laughed at the eagerness in his friend's voice and asked, "You still think you can get him and Faith hooked up?"

"Hey," Willow said, defensively, "A little matchmaking never hurt anyone."

"Unless you're doing it with Slayers," Riley said, "She almost killed him last time."

"Yeah but I doubt he was complaining," Willow came back and Riley almost dropped the phone at the brashness. Instead he roared with laughter.

Once he had himself under control he said, "In answer to your question, yes, it's Graham's team. He still won't take a desk job."

The thoughts of his best friend still out in the field risking his life caused the humor to drain out of Riley as quickly as it had taken root.

Willow seemed to sense his mood and said, "Hey, don't worry; remember he's got some of the best backup he could have."

"I know," Riley said, "still I'd just like it better…"

"If you were there too," Willow finished for him.

"Yeah," Riley said simply.

He cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I'll make a phone call. Xander should be out of the hot seat within the hour."

"Thanks Riley," Willow said, "Talk to you later."

"Later Willow," Riley said and hung up.

He immediately picked up the phone again and dialed a number. He waited for the phone to be picked up on the other end and when it was said, "This is Riley Finn, I need to speak to the Governor of Nevada."

*****

Xander was getting bored. Seriously bored. Bored beyond reason.

He hadn't said anything beyond one word answers, mostly "no", for the last twenty minutes.

Captain Jim Brass was like a dog with a bone. He could give Buffy a run for her money in the stubbornness department.

He wasn't going to let it go as long as he was sure Xander was involved with what had happened to this family and Xander hadn't bothered to go with the cover story because until he was sure he was going to get the support he didn't want to do anything else that would make him look guiltier.

Finally, Willow gave him the all clear. It was perfectly timed too because Captain Brass had just made a suggestion about Xander participating in activities that would make any human's stomach churn. He took a calming breath and said, "Alright, you want to know what's going on?"

Brass almost smiled in glee, while Grissom became more guarded, wondering at the sudden change in heart on Xander's part.

The demon hunter realized that this story had better be good because you don't pull the wool over the eyes of a man like this; either of them actually.

"I didn't think I'd get caught in the house actually. I was shocked by that and it was not how I wanted to introduce myself. The truth is that I'm a federal agent."

There was dead silence for about three seconds before Brass slapped the table and laughed, "Right, you forgot your badge in your other pants? Now pull the other one."

Xander almost laughed but decided against it, instead choosing to go for complete seriousness, "I'm being completely serious Captain Brass. Me and my partner came to Vegas for a little rest and relaxation. When we landed this morning, and by the way if you'd checked the flight records you'd of known there was no way I could have been involved with this, we heard about what had happened on the news. We had a hunch it fell within our area of expertise and decided to investigate."

Brass obviously still didn't believe him and asked, "And the reason you didn't announce yourselves was what?"

"We're used to working pretty independently, Captain. We get called into cases usually when their stone cold and the police have no place to go with them. Getting a chance to get into one at the beginning was simply not something we were going to waste jumping through political hoops. I really wasn't interested in getting into a pissing contest about jurisdiction while an animal like this was on the street."

"So instead you decided to waste our time by letting us interrogating you?" Grissom asked.

"That does sound bad doesn't it?" Xander asked, "But until I could prove who I really was I didn't want to waste my time telling you. Besides, your lab is still running evidence and listening to Captain Brass try to explain how I was involved with this I got a lot of information on this case that I might not have gotten otherwise until you had no choice but to share it with me. Like I said, I'm not interested in wasting time in pissing contests while this animal is out there."

In reality Xander knew that it didn't matter what these people did they weren't going to catch whatever it was that did this, it would be him and his friends that would be taking care of it. He also knew that there was no way they were going to get access to the information that these people had that he needed until they thought he was on their side.

That wasn't going to happen until Riley got things straightened out.

Once again Xander was regretting the decision to not carry the I.D. badges Sam and Riley had offered them. It would make these things so much easier, and he was going to be sure to explain that very forcefully the next time he had Giles on the phone. This was a monumental waste of time.

Grissom seemed to nod his head and Brass said, "Grissom, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Grissom nodded, knowing what his friend wanted.

Brass looked at Xander and said, "Don't go anywhere."

Xander snorted but said nothing.

*****

Outside interrogation Jim turned on Grissom and said, "Please tell me you're not buying this bullshit?"

Grissom shrugged, "It's too incredible a claim not to be true. There are too many things that we can easily verify. The flight information alone clears him of the murders. At that point we'd only have him on a trespass charge. I'll get Greg to check the flight information but he didn't do this, I'm sure of it."

The rest of the team had come out into the hallway by this point and Brass asked, "How can you be so sure?"

Grissom was about to answer when he saw a sight he never thought he'd see: Ecklie, running down the hall, clear fear on his face.

Ecklie stopped, in front of all of them and looked at Grissom and said, "Alexander Harris, Where is he?"

Grissom raised an eyebrow and looked at Brass, "Xander's in interrogation."

"Xander?" Ecklie asked, clearly confused and was just opening his mouth to ask Grissom what the hell he was talking about when Grissom took care of it for him.

"Mr. Harris prefers to be called Xander, and he's right there in interrogation," Grissom said, pointing.

Ecklie didn't say anything else; instead he practically exploded into interrogation, Grissom and Brass right behind him, the rest of the night shift hanging close by outside the door.

"Agent Harris, please, allow me to apologize. I don't know how something like this could have happened."

Xander smiled at the panting man in front of him. He immediately pegged him as a wannabe politician which meant as far as Xander was concerned he was a peon at best; still no need to be rude right off the bat.

"It's quite alright Mr.…" Xander trailed off, waiting for an answer.

"Ecklie, Conrad Ecklie."

"Well, Mr. Ecklie, it's me that should be apologizing, me and my partner. As I was telling Captain Brass here my partner and I are used to a little more autonomy than is usually accepted in most places. We forget ourselves sometimes and for that I apologize. Still I have to say I'm very impressed with the way I was caught. That was pretty impressive indeed."

Ecklie nodded, any praise of anyone in the lab obviously praise for him as well, "Yes that was Sara Sidle, she's one of the night shift CSI's."

Xander nodded, not bothering to say anything knowing this man had more to say; he was too important not to.

"I've already arranged for the dayshift supervisor to join us in the morning to brief you on the case. I'll have the case transferred to the dayshift I imagine you'll want to work with them anyway."

Xander could see the people behind Ecklie getting ready to protest. Even Grissom seemed stunned, and more than a little irritated at the presumption that his team couldn't handle the case. Xander decided to put the kibosh on that right now.

"Actually," Xander began, speaking calmly yet forcefully, "As I understand it, Dr. Grissom and his team have an incredibly impressive track record for solving cases, isn't that true?"

"Well, yes," Ecklie stuttered, "But…"

"And," Xander said, "They were the primaries on the scene. Seems it would be a waste of resources to try and switch the case to another team that would waste time trying to catch up when these people are perfectly capable of handling this case."

He looked at the assembled people, his eyes settling on the woman in back, Sara Sidle, and smiled slightly before finishing, "Besides, my partner and I prefer to work nights."

Ecklie seemed to deflate. He always preferred directing the high profile cases to what he considered his "golden team" the team he just happened to have been in charge of before his promotion.

He could tell, however when he was beaten and tried to recover as best he could and said, "Well, in that case, I won't take up any more of your time and I'll leave you in Grissom's capable hands."

"Thank you, Mr. Ecklie," Xander said, putting it on thick, "I've no doubt that Dr. Grissom will be able to help me just fine."

Ecklie didn't seem to know if he'd just been slighted or not and instead decided to not say anything more and left the room, bellowing as he went, "I'm sure you people all have jobs, get back to them."

Ecklie looked at Grissom and said, "Gil, can I see you for a moment?"

The two men left and Xander looked at Captain Brass and the remainder of the night shift CSI and said, "So, where should we begin," he asked seriously; pretending that he hadn't just been a suspect in a murder a few moments ago.

*****

Gil and Ecklie moved into the observation room and Ecklie said, "You want to explain why you were interrogating a federal agent?"

"We didn't know he was a federal agent till a few minutes before you came. He didn't tell anyone that and he didn't have any ID. How were we supposed to know Conrad? In fact how did you know?"

"I got a call," Ecklie explained, "from the Governor and he wasn't happy that he was getting phone calls from Homeland Security asking why we had one of their agents in custody."

"Homeland Security," Grissom questioned, "that doesn't make any sense. Since when do they handle investigations like this?"

"I asked the same question, and when I did the Governor happily transfered my call to a three way so I could have Mr. Harris' boss explain to me in no uncertain terms that 'the nature of Mr. Harris' involvement with Homeland Security is on a need to know basis.' He told me all I did need to know was that Mr. Harris and the people that work with him are experts in their area of expertise and had assisted on several cases throughout the country. He then suggested that we were to extend every curtosey."

Grissom raised an eyebrow at that and Ecklie said, "That suggestion was reiterated by the Governor who told me he'd be happy to get the mayor on the phone if I needed to hear it from him."

Grissom was sorely tempted to laugh at the near panic in his boss' voice. Conrad was a politician before he was anything else. Ambitious unlike anyone Gil had ever met before. To watch him running around trying to put out a fire he'd had nothing to do with and had no one to pin it one would have been funny if the circumstances surrounding it weren't so dire. Instead Grissom said, "We'll work with them but they have to understand this is our case."

Ecklie nodded, "According to Harris' boss, guy by the name of Riley Finn, and here's his number if you want to talk to him yourself," he gave Grissom a piece of paper with some information and a number on it, "He said that Harris and the people that work with him aren't glory hounds. In fact their exactly the opposite. Kind of like you in that regard," Ecklie couldn't resist getting a dig in.

"Anyway," he continued, "Finn said they don't look for glory and they don't try to take things over. They just offer their expertise and we would do well to listen to them."

Grissom shook his head, confused, "That's another thing, how does a kid that's only twenty-five become on expert on occult murders?"

Ecklie shrugged and said, "I don't know, I don't care, just work with them and get this case solved."

With that Ecklie moved out of the room and headed back to his office.

Grissom entered the interrogation room where his people were still gathered and was listening as Xander described the scene as he saw it.

Standing back Grissom had to admit that the guy had a good eye for detail. He also seemed to definitely know what he was talking about which just deepened the mystery further. Finally Grissom made his presence known and said, "I assume you'll want to get up to speed on what we have so far."

Xander said, "That would be good, although I'll need to call my partner."

Grissom nodded, then asked, "By the way, what's your area of expertise?"

"We investigate crimes involving mass or spree killings and those that have a particular occult leaning," Xander said.

"What made you think that this case met your usual parameters," was the next question.

"My partner just had a feeling," Xander said, "and when my partner gets a hunch, I've learned to listen to it."

The way he said it caused a strange reaction in Grissom and Sara Sidle, 'Interesting,' Xander thought.

Grissom covered his reaction well and asked, "When will your partner be getting here and should we wait for him?"

"Her," Xander corrected, "I imagine she should be here shortly. Actually if I could I'd like to get my things back and maybe get cleaned up."

Grissom nodded, "Sure, Nick," he looked at a sandy haired man Xander's height but definitely of a slighter build and said, "Nick show Agent Harris, the locker room after you get his things for him."

Nick stepped forward and shook Xander's hand, "Nick Stokes."

"Xander Harris. Please leave the agent stuff, we don't need it. Just call me Xander."

Everyone could tell he meant it as a blanket statement and he and Nick filed out of the room.

Grissom looked at the rest of the team and said, "Get together what we've got so we can go over it. We'll use that time to bring Agent Harris," he stopped for a second and then continued, "Or I should say Xander, and his partner up to speed."

Everyone nodded and began filing out.

Finally it was just Brass and Grissom and Brass said, "You buy this?"

Grissom seemed to consider it, "It is possible but it seems just a little too convenient."

"That's one word for it," Brass said.

Grissom looked at Brass and said, "We'll extend full cooperation to him and his partner but still, it wouldn't hurt if you made another phone call to L.A."

Brass nodded, understanding what Grissom was saying and with that both men left the interrogation room.


	5. Chapter 5

5. Investigations 1

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN1: I've played with the time line a little bit and the things that happened in season four of Angel didn't happen until AFTER the calling of the Slayers by Willow's spell at the end of Season Seven.

As such the entire Jasmine thing WOULD have happened in what would be considered season six of angel or in 2004 into 2005 but none of that happened in my world. No connor crap and no Jasmine. Skip tried to get it going but what happened will be explained quickly in this chapter.

As far as I'm concerned seasons four and five of Angel would have been them dealing with increased efforts by Wolfram and Hart, and other entities throughout the city...you know basically like the first two seasons that were so damn good before things got crazy. Hope no one objects.

AN2: Warning a little exposition here but not much, I try to keep it down but want things clear. Hope you all enjoy it. The Angel gang is getting involved, don't ask me why. My muse doesn't tell me anything ahead of time. She whispers and I type.

AN3: as suggested by Dorthy in one of my reviews I've tried to concentrate on the investigation here, not exclusively but alot, the same will be true of the next chapter. After all, what is CSI without all that lab work and revelation of how clever they all are.

Enjoy

Willow walked into the Las Vegas Crime Lab demonstrating a level of confidence that she would have found impossible just a few years ago. There was however a certain level of comfort in knowing how good you were at your job and what you did. Willow looked around as soon as she entered the lobby and noticed a man that Xander had described to her. Conrad Ecklie, and Xander was right, he did look like a slightly taller Principal Snyder, only less evil and more incompetence.

Apparently Ecklie noticed her because he came over to her immediately and asked nervously, "Willow Rosenberg?"

Willow nodded and pulled out the ID's that they should have had from the beginning.

Xander had called her and told her to come down to the lab so they could get to work. He'd also told her, in hushed tones, to mojo over those ID's Riley had made for them but they never used.

Willow had protested, albeit weakly but Xander had said he'd already talked to Giles and basically put his foot down. If they were going to be working within the US they needed to carry those things. If this had been a different situation where they couldn't afford to have Xander in jail he would have had no choice but to hurt some people in order to avoid capture. That wasn't an acceptable course of action in Xander's mind and thankfully it hadn't been in Giles' mind either. That was the way the old Council did things.

So Willow now had hers, Xander's, and Dawn's ID for when she arrived. She also had her briefcase and Xander's and the pistol that Xander insisted on carrying.

It was one of the manifestations of the soldier aspect that Xander insisted on being armed. He carried a pistol nearly everywhere now a days.

Buffy had of course objected, having no love for guns. Strangely enough she had expected Willow to join her in her crusade against them but she hadn't. As she explained it to Buffy she blamed Warren, not the tool he used to kill Tara.

Even with this new annoyingly macho habit there were some definite advantages to the Soldier possession.

Through the soldier's influence Xander had worked out a number of ways to make firearms more effective against vampires and demons. Most of his ideas being implemented by Riley and the hunt teams operating in the US and elsewhere. It had been another reason that Willow was secretly happy that the possession Xander had undergone was working out for him so well.

She had long since realized that her best friend had an almost pathological need to contribute to the fight against the darkness and didn't understand that the moral support he'd always offered would have been a large enough contribution by anyone's standards.

He could never see that as being enough.

Xander needed to be on the front line, even if it killed him.

He'd been lucky not to have gotten seriously injured during the seven years on the Hellmouth. Lucky that the only thing he'd lost was his eye.

Willow had stayed up at nights worrying about Xander, having nightmares when she slept of her life without him because his luck had finally run out.

Now she hoped that his luck had gotten a recharge. She needed Xander in her life like she needed air.

Willow cleared her head as she concentrated on the man in front of her, "Sorry," she said in apology.

Ecklie nodded and said, "I'll show you where your partner is."

He turned and started walking, offering to carry one of the briefcases for her. She of course declined; she had an image to uphold after all.

They made their way through several halls, Ecklie pointing out several areas along the way.

Finally they came to a conference room and she saw several people standing around including Xander, looking newly showered.

He sensed her before anyone else did and said, "Willow, come on in."

Willow did and put the briefcases down and went to Xander's side. She wanted to hug him but she knew that wouldn't be appropriate for the cover they were using. It was going to be hard enough to explain why two people that knew each other in high school now worked together in Homeland Security, especially as young as they were.

Introductions were made and Ecklie decided to make himself scarce, but promising anything they needed was theirs. As he left Willow has a sneaking suspicion that the man would spend most of the time in his office trying to figure out a way to take credit if they solved this, and how to blame everyone else if they didn't. She shook the thoughts off as unproductive but decided she'd need to put some protection in place to make sure that didn't happen. She hated bureaucrats.

Finally everyone sat down and Grissom began, "Miss Rosenberg, Xander, perhaps you could give us some background on the two of you. It would help if we knew your strengths."

Willow began first, "First of all, my name is Willow," everyone nodded, "My specialty is programming, computer modeling, and searches. If it's out there and if it has a pattern I can find it. I'm well read on various occult systems of belief and am actually working on my doctorate in mythology."

It was sort of true, and what the records said. Of course in reality her doctorate would be in Demonology and Magical Rituals, and it'd be through the Council. However they had contacts in several of the older universities in both England and the U.S. and so were able to make sure that Willow's efforts would have real world dividends.

In this case it wouldn't be much of a stretch since both of those could be seen as a mythology major doctorate subject on their own. After all to most people in the world demons and magic were synonymous with myth.

She looked at Xander and he said, "I don't know if what I do would be considered a specialty but I know people, and I am really good at solving puzzles."

"Puzzles," Sara asked, thinking Xander sounded a little like Grissom in that case.

"Yeah," Xander said, "I understand people, how they think, why they think what they think, and what they're going to do because of what they think."

"So you're a profiler?" Greg asked, interested in the two people that had invaded their little club. Normally he wasn't sure that would be something he was comfortable with but in this case he was willing to make an exception. He'd even invite Hodges to the table if it would help them solve this thing faster.

Xander nodded, "Right, basically I'm a profiler but without the fancy school learning. I got my knowledge the old fashioned way, being around people and being around bad people that wanted to do bad things and trying to figure out ways to stop them."

Grissom tried to maintain his curiosity but Catherine wasn't so willing to do that, "How did you two get involved with this?"

Xander looked to Willow who waved her hand in a motion that said, 'Go ahead, so Xander took a breath and said.

"The town we grew up in had a lot of crime and street gangs. You either learned to stay out of the way of the gangs or they got you."

Willow injected right here, "It wasn't till after he'd died that Sunnydale learned that the mayor has been using the gangs for a number of criminal activities. That was why they were so powerful; they had the Mayor protecting them."

"Why would he do that?" Greg, asked, clearly confused. He knew politicians could be unscrupulous but not actually intentionally helping criminals, not usually anyway.

Xander took this one, "It was theorized, since no one ever got a chance to ask him, that he was using them as a kind of enforcement and protection. He was basically using the gangs to protect the other illegal things he was doing. The town never really got it all figured out. They were still going through records when the town sank."

"So how did you get involved?" Sara asked, "Your name pops up in a lot of police reports from Sunnydale."

Xander shrugged, and dug open an old wound, "I had a friend, his name was Jesse, we both knew him," Xander looked at Willow who smiled sadly.

"Anyway my friend Jesse was killed by the gangs, and being a kid I felt that he deserved justice so I started working with some other friends. Willow," he indicated the red head, "another friend of ours, and we tried to help people protect themselves from the gangs."

"So you two grew up together?" Grissom asked, and at their nods said, "It's a little strange that you two are now working together. How did that happen?"

"Well," Willow said as she picked up the story again, "We tried to get evidence to the right people when we could. Tried to make sure our classmates were safe, just anything we could. Stupid kids were all we were."

"But," Xander said, "we tried and I'd like to think we made a difference, although what kind I guess you could debate about it."

"After the Mayor died things were still bad so we kept doing what we did and when Sunnydale fell Willow and I helped a P.I. in Los Angeles on a case that caught the right people's attention and suddenly we were offered jobs and training and here we are."

The story had been well thought out and had just enough detail to sound convincing but not so much that it sounded rehearsed or gave a lot of things that could be traced. Riley and his people had helped to get the electronic records in the right order to support the story, to make things more plausible. Some people might not believe it, but since the records matched the story they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

To anyone that didn't know Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg would look like two young people that, because of a hard unfortunate life had found a calling that allowed them to help people in need or in trouble. It was amazing how true that actually was in reality, except it had the extra topping of involving things most people believed to be myth.

"Sounds a bit vigilante to me," Nick said, his natural sense of right and wrong bothered both by what these two had probably been doing, and that they were kids that were doing what the cops should have been.

Xander shrugged, "We'd of loved it if the cops did their job like they should of, unfortunately that wasn't the case. They had their hands tied pretty well, and those that didn't we suspect were being paid off. Basically Sunnydale was the worst place to live if you were growing up. We did what we thought was right. That's all anyone can do."

Gil Grissom seemed to accept that explanation although Xander could tell the CSI supervisor would be checking the records later now that he knew what to look for. Xander wasn't worried about what he'd find; he knew Riley's people were good.

No, what worried him was that even if he read in black and white exactly what Xander had just said Xander got the feeling that whatever Sara Sidle was, Grissom knew about it. This meant if she had told him about them then he already knew all of this was crap anyway so what the records said didn't matter.

Xander could sense the tension in the room, and could feel as if he was waiting for some kind of verdict.

Finally Grissom looked down at what he had in front of him and said, "So what do we know?"

Xander accepted that as tacit approval and released the nervous breath he hadn't even been known he was holding. Apparently his and Willow's presence were acceptable for now so he settled in to listen and try to piece together what they knew.

"According to the M.E.," Nick said, "the parents and the brother were killed first."

"Collateral damage," Xander said.

The comment causing everyone to look at him, so he elaborated, "The parents and the oldest weren't part of the ritual, the girls are what our guys needed, but there was something in the way, the other three people in the house. So they were killed quickly, more or less as an after thought, to get to the prize."

"How do you know there's more than one?" Catherine asked.

Xander held up his copy of the M.E. report, "Besides the observation of the different cuts made by," he checked the file, "Dr. Robbins?"

Grissom nodded for Xander to continue.

"Look at the situation. Six people all being held hostage, there's no way five people are going to sit still while someone shoves whatever it was into someone's head. They'd of scattered; at least one of them would have tried to get away. Especially if the parents were telling their kids to run as I imagine they would. No, the only possible way you could control six people like this is one, you've got them restrained, two you've got more than one person helping you. No evidence of restraint besides the nails in the basement, so that leaves number two."

Xander stopped after his little dissertation and watched the reactions. Slowly he could see the crime beginning to take form in their minds. They could see now how more than one person could have done this. They were already reasonable sure that there was more than one but this solidified that theory, but it caused a problem with another aspect.

"So you think whoever did this they were all into it? All willing to go all the way?"

Xander pulled out a couple of pictures and said, "No doubt in my mind. Something like this. No one would pull off a ritual like this unless everyone was one hundred percent committed to the 'cause'."

Warrick looked confused and asked, "What about the markings on the girls' bodies? They showed hesitation."

"That's because the girls were moving," Willow commented.

All eyes shifted to her.

"Look at the picture number 56," she said as she pulled the picture out to pass it around.

"See how intricate the markings are? It's much clearer from this autopsy photo than it would have been at the scene. There were nods all around.

"This is similar in design to the Sumerian character for innocence," she explained.

"It's not Sumerian, but it's close. In order to draw magic symbols properly you're required to draw the symbols in a particular way. There's no way the girls would have been able to hold still from the pain, so the person doing the cutting would have had to stop and start over and over to get the symbol perfect."

"And later," Catherine added, putting things together in her head, "as the girls started to get tired from the struggling and the blood loss, they wouldn't have been able to move around as much."

Willow nodded, "Exactly."

"How do you know the symbol's not Sumerian?" Nick asked, examining the photo more closely.

"Because I can read Sumerian," was the simple reply.

Grissom was shocked. He so wanted to ask questions. He had so many piling up. Now he had another one that was actually now near the top of the list, how does a twenty-five year old learn to read Sumerian?

Willow apparently saw the look, "I'm not fluent or anything but I can recognize a lot of it with regards to rituals and the like," she looked at Xander and said, "When Dawn gets here we'll need to show her all the symbols so she can tell us exactly what this was for."

"Dawn?"

"She's another agent that works with us," Xander explained, "She is fluent in reading Sumerian, and Latin, and Greek, and Egyptian, and like a dozen other languages. She should be here in the morning. If we put her in a room with her laptop, some coffee, doughnuts, chocolate, specifically, and these symbols she'll have everything we ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask inside of twenty-four hours."

"She's really that good?" Sara asked.

"He might be exaggerating somewhat," Willow said, "but not by much. Dawn has a gift with languages that's absolutely stunning. She soaks them up like a sponge."

"Well hopefully she can help us figure out what the symbols mean and that will help us figure out the what. That still doesn't tell us the who or the why," Grissom said. He looked at Greg and asked, "What about that sample that Warrick found?"

Greg shrugged in frustration, "It must be contaminated somehow. It tested positive for blood but there's no DNA in it anywhere. Analysis came back as a chemical composition of Mercuric Acid, Sulfur, Carbon and a few other things. A mixture like that it's no wonder we can't find any DNA. Still I decided to see if we could get lucky and I've sent a sample over to UNLV, they've got an extensive chemistry program, I'm hoping they can help us figure out what it is, and what it's used for and then maybe…" Greg trailed off as if the answer was obvious, maybe they can get a lead.

No one noticed the quick glance that Willow gave Xander at the mention of the combination.

"Prints?" Grissom asked.

"There were a few prints that didn't belong to the family, and Catherine found several in the blood that was used to draw the symbols on the wall. We ran them and they didn't come up on AFIS."

"The boot print we found in the basement belonged to a Hi-Tec boot, size eleven," Catherine said, "They're a high priced combat boot worn by some military and police forces but they're available on the open market. The print in question showed a boot that wasn't very worn so I checked and there's only a dozen stores that sell them in the area, we're going to check their sales in the morning, maybe we'll get lucky and our guy bought his shoes with a credit card."

"Ok," Grissom said, "so according to Robbins and Xander we can almost certainly rule out a lone assailant. So, let's recreate."

Everyone looked at their notes and then Nick said, "Ok, we know the girls were all killed at almost the same time after several hours of torture, M.E. puts their death at about 6 a.m. The call came in to the police at 9:30."

"At the same time," Greg said, looking at the coroner report he had, "Mr. and Mrs. Lawson and their son were killed between six and seven P.M. the previous night."

"According to the their neighbor Mr. Arsden across the street, Mrs. Lawson arrived home with the kids from school at 4:30 and Mr. Lawson got there at 5:00," Warrick said, reading from the notes he got from the neighbors, "He also said that the Lawson's were 'real nice people' they were friendly with people in the neighborhood. The kids were friendly and polite. This was just an all around nice family."

"So sometime between 5:00 when Mr. Lawson came home and when he, and his wife and son were killed someone got into the house with the sun still up; took control of the house so that none of the neighbors noticed anything. Killed three people in the kitchen and then killed three more in the basement and again got out after the sun had come up without anyone seeing anything." Nick said in disbelief, "We're hunting ghosts."

Grissom sighed in frustration, "We're hunting sick people, that's all."

Catherine shook her head, "So we've got the all American family. All nice people, polite, respectful hard working and someone decided that they'd be the perfect choice for a slaughter?"

"You're looking at it the wrong way," Willow finally said, having listened, impressed to the group as they looked at the evidence they already had and came up with several directions of investigation. These people really were good.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"What she means," Xander said, "is you're looking at this case like I imagine you do most cases. In that case it's one person doing things to another for revenge, greed, jealousy, or perversion. Right?"

"Usually," Grissom nodded, indicating he should continue.

"This isn't your normal case. If you think motive is important, so you can solve it then you need to understand that this person is not driven by greed, jealousy, revenge, or perversion. They didn't choose these people because they had done something. They were chosen because they were exactly as they appear; good people. People who do these kinds of rituals choose their victims because they espouse some virtue that they think is necessary to achieve their goals, usually innocence."

"Innocence?" Sara asked.

"Yes," Willow said, picking up the explanation. The girls were innocent; they would have made perfect sacrifices to whatever god or demon these people thought they were trying to appease."

"This is unreal. Are we actually talking about satanic sacrifices?" Catherine asked, "I mean in Las Vegas, in the 21st century."

Willow shrugged, "As long as there have been people that thought they weren't getting what they deserved in life you've had made up rituals that are supposed to give them what it is they want. What they think they deserve. The desire for that hasn't changed no matter what century it is. If someone is desperate enough, they'll try anything."

The CSI team considered that for a long moment. They were all good at what they did; experts in fact. This crime however was outside the scope of what they usually went up against. Rapists, robbers, crooks, scammers, and murderers were their area of expertise.

Religious fervor that led to murder, that was a little different.

"And we need to know that so we know what we're after. By understanding the drive, it will help us catch them," Warrick said. Stating what everyone now understood. They had started to fall into their usual pattern out of habit; looking in directions that wouldn't serve this time. They needed to focus their skills on what the crime was actually about. That way they could solve this that much faster.

Grissom looked at his watch and said, "It's almost three a.m. We need to call it quits."

"What about other cases?" Catherine asked.

Grissom shook his head, "This is all we are working on, till it's solved. We've been on this for almost sixteen hours now. I want everyone to get some rest, even if it's somewhere here in the lab. We need to recharge," he looked at Xander and Willow and said, "all of us."

*****

After they'd left the lab Willow and Xander headed right to their room at the Wynn Hotel and Casino so they could talk privately and so Willow could get what they knew to their people.

As Xander and Willow arrived at their suite Xander spun Willow around and said, "Please tell me that concoction isn't what I think it is."

"Mercuric Acid, Sulfur, and Carbon, Calcium for the bones that were pulverized to make it," Willow said, her voice almost dead, "the components are mixed with the blood of the user and when prepared properly gives the person whose blood it was made from the ability to negate the magic of anyone it is used on. It's what that lunatic used on me."

Although her voice was calm Xander could tell she was reliving that night when she was sure she would die.

"But where would someone get it?" Xander asked, not liking the sudden turn that this situation had taken.

"Any alchemist worth his salt could cook it up if they knew how. It's a derivative of Haitian Zombie Powder, but instead of placing the person in a near dead state and causing psychotropic effects, this stuff simply causes a victim to be completely powerless against the person that's using it. It's also painful." She said as an after thought, as she remembered her experience with the same compound, "The alchemists that designed it wanted witches it was used on to hurt. It was their punishment for conspiring with the devil."

The anger in her voice was clear and Xander once again wished he had been there for his friend.

He cast those useless thoughts to the side and said, "So what is an anti-magic substance doing in the kitchen of the all American Family?"

"There was obviously more to them than meets the eye. Obviously they were magic users, or at least someone thought they were. You know it's not the first time those morons thought someone was a witch and wasn't," Willow pointed out.

"I don't think this is them though," Xander said. He saw the look on Willow's face and said, "Two reasons: One, Giles has made sure they're all but eliminated and any of that group left went so far to ground I doubt they can see daylight, much less hunt for witches,"

"True," Willow conceded, "But then they aren't the only group out there hunting witches either."

Xander nodded at that but didn't say anything as he saw the look of consideration on Willow's face.

She looked at him and said, "You said there were tow reasons, what was your other one?"

"Simple," Xander said, "we know a dark magic ritual took place in that house. There is no way one of those fanatics, or any anti-witch fanatic for that matter would be within ten city blocks of a ritual like that unless they were trying to kill the people doing it. No this is something else, something else entirely."

We need to call Giles," Willow said, setting up her laptop, "we'll update him on what's going on and I can send copies of the photos of the symbols to the researchers in Cleveland. Hopefully they can give us something to go on."

Xander nodded, "Don't forget Dawn's going to be here in," he checked his watch quickly, "five hours. Hopefully she can help us out here. I've suddenly got a very bad feeling about this."

*****

Gil watched Sara as she slept on the couch in his office. Everyone else had left, promising to be back in a few hours to keep working. He and Sara were the only ones still in the lab and thankfully no one thought it peculiar that they were both in his office with the door closed and the lights off. Of course the blinds were open, Gil not willing to push his luck that far, so anyone could peek in and see him trying to sleep in his chair and Sara unconscious on his couch.

The problem was it wasn't a peaceful sleep, it wasn't even close.

Sara was tossing, turning, frowning; not a lot, but enough that he knew what was happening. She was dreaming, and from the way she was acting it wasn't a normal nightmare.

He felt guilty, as he watched her quietly, looking like he was studying one of his fascinating bugs.

He should wake her, he knew that. It was cruel to leave her when he knew what she dreamt. If he had a heart at all he'd go over there and wake her before she suffered a moment longer.

The problem was that he was also a criminalist, and right now he was working a case that he needed solved, fast.

If Sara was having a nightmare right now then there was a good chance it was related to the case, and he would be a fool to pass up an opportunity like this.

He also knew that if he let his emotions get the better of him and he did wake her up she'd be pissed off at not being able to get whatever information she could.

He was still pissed at her but not so much that he was willing to make another mistake.

And what he'd said to her in the observation room had been a mistake, as had his tone. He knew right after the words had left his mouth that he'd let his emotions get the better of him. Catherine already knew they were lovers and his actions tonight had certainly made the rest of his team sit up and take special notice of the both of them. They were all intelligent, skilled investigators and eventually they were all going to figure it out.

Not to mention, as an added bonus what he'd said had been a slap in the face to Warrick who still carried the guilt of Holly Gribbs death. Reminding him of that had been cruel and he reminded himself that he needed to apologize when he got the chance.

"Bad feeling. Bad feeling. Bad…bad…" Sara's voice brought him out of his musings.

Her voice sounded different, hollow as if she wasn't saying the words at all. He decided that she'd been this way long enough and he rose from his chair and towards the couch intent to wake her.

He didn't get the chance as she shot bolt upright and clamped a hand over her own mouth to stop from screaming.

Gil was there instantly, holding her in his arms as she shuddered. He cursed himself as he couldn't help but look out the windows of his office to make sure no one was looking in. A wave of guilt crashed into him as he wondered if he would have remained holding her so gently if someone had been looking.

After a few moments Sara calmed down and sat back, putting a professional amount of space between them as she said in a shuddering breath, "They're lying to us."

*****

Jim Brass hated mysteries, hated them even more when they were right in his own building. These two Homeland Security agents were definitely mysteries though and that meant they were mysteries he had to deal with.

He looked at his phone, trying to decide if it was too late to call Los Angeles again. That detective, Stein had said he was busy but that he would call back after he finished a drug bust.

Brass had been waiting all night for that call, and was beginning to wonder if the guy was trying to give him the brush off.

Brass snorted, apparently this Stein character didn't know who he was dealing with. Jim had friends he could call in L.A., Captain Annie Kramer specifically, and she would make sure Stein got in touch with him.

It was an hour later and Jim was beginning to nod off when his phone rang. He sat up quickly, and yawned as just as he was picking it up.

"Brass," he said as he finished his yawn.

"Captain Brass, this is Detective Michael Stein, you called me a few hours ago about Xander Harris?"

"Yeah," Brass said, as he cleared the rest of the sleep from his brain, "I was beginning to wonder if you were going get back to me today."

"Well we had a pretty big drug bust to deal with here; police work here in L.A. isn't as much fun as it seems to be in the movies."

The comment rubbed Brass the wrong way, as if this guy thought he needed a lesson in police work. It was at that moment that Jim Brass began to think that this guy was a real asshole.

He kept his thoughts to himself however and instead said, "So what can you ell me about Harris that I might not already know?"

"Well," the detective on the other end said, "as I told you before he was in a pretty dangerous gang, pretty smart too, since we were never able to make anything stick. Actually it wasn't like any gang you'd see since we were fairly certain that they were actually getting their marching orders from the high school librarian."

Brass couldn't help but snort in laughter, "Oh you've got to be kidding me."

Stein's voice came back ice cold on the other end as he said, "It might sound funny, but it becomes a lot less so when you consider we found the man's girlfriend in his house, in his bed, with her neck snapped. Her body was even posed so that it was the first thing you'd see as you came into the bedroom and for a few seconds you just thought she was lying there waiting for you. Whoever killed her had a sick sense of humor."

Brass had to admit, it was less funny, "Was the librarian a suspect?"

"Of course he was," Stein said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, "He was the prime suspect in fact since we had reports that they had had a falling out romantically and then suddenly there she was in his house."

"So what happened?" Brass asked, wondering how this tied in with Harris.

Stein voice came out in an almost growl as he said, "The same damn thing that always happened when I was dealing with those people. The librarian, a Rupert Giles, by the way, was covered and given an alibi for the time of the woman's death by one Buffy Summers. She was one of the students at the high school and another person in the gang Harris was in. She was a suspect in two murders. One of them we had her dead to rights but then the damn body disappeared from the morgue before the autopsy was done so we had no proof of cause of death."

"What the hell was going on in that town?" Brass asked, amazed at what he was hearing.

"Gangs ran Sunnydale like it was their own playground Captain Brass, and Harris, Summers, and the rest of their crew were some of the worst," Stein said, "Let me give you a clearer picture of these people so you'll understand what you're up against."

Brass couldn't help but notice the almost glee in the detective's voice as he started to reveal case after damning case of the activities of Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles, and Buffy Summers. Some of the things the detective was telling him sounded unbelievable, but Stein said he had reports he was going to fax to Brass to show him what he was talking about.

True to his word faxed police reports began coming through Brass's fax machine as they continued talking.

Not once did Brass reveal to Detective Stein that Harris was no longer a suspect in any crime. He never once told the detective that in fact Xander Harris was now an agent for the United States government. If Detective Stein wasn't smart enough to check things like that then it was his problem. Brass just silently soaked up all the information he could about one Xander Harris and his friends.

Brass did frown however as he realized that the puzzle just gotten a little more complicated.

*****

New Watcher's Headquarters

Cleveland Branch

Rupert Giles was not a man that most people would consider imposing unless you caught him at the wrong time. The man who had earned the title of "Ripper" in his younger days put on airs of a calm, distinguished, and cultured man but at his center beat the heart of a fighter.

As Rupert Giles looked at the files that his surrogate daughter Willow sent through the computer he realized that things were much, much worse than he had thought.

It had been a long time since he had seen such senseless slaughter that had this kind of an effect on him. He shouldn't be surprised at this point in his life at some of the truly senseless things that were done in the name of evil but still, every so often surprised he was.

Carefully, as he sipped at the scotch he had poured himself he studied each of the symbols individually and in their groupings.

He had already forwarded the markings to the research department that was ordered to pull as many shifts as necessary until they discovered exactly what the ritual did, and who would use such a thing. These innocent children needed to be avenged.

Giles chuckled sadly as the thought of vengeance ran through his mind and inevitably, so did the image of the dead woman he'd loved so many years ago. Jenny Calendar would always be with him, always.

He pushed the dead woman's image and thoughts of her from his mind and again concentrated on the images.

A decision was quickly made and he picked up his phone and dialed a number from memory. The phone was picked up on the second ring, "Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."

Giles smiled at the sound of Cordelia's voice, sounding so much stronger than it had after her near death due to the visions she had been gifted/cursed with. Luckily one of the old researchers in the Council had found a vague reference to the rising of an "Old Power", and, rather than keep it quiet, informing only his superiors as was old Council rule, until such time as revealing it could serve them best, he'd brought it to everyone's attention immediately.

Because if that, and the research done in that case; they had been able to prevent the course of events that would have, ultimately, led to Cordelia's death. Giles could still remember the pacing he had done that night as they waited word form California that the demonic entity, known as "Skip" had been brought low.

He had originally presented himself to Cordelia as an aid and had offered her a chance to get rid of her visions, which she'd initially accepted. Later however realizing that was a mistake she took them back and then Skip had offered her a way to deal with them without killing her. It had led to her being made part demon so that the visions wouldn't do the damage to her brain that they would have when she was human.

All of this, as it had turned out had been nothing but a ruse that would have led to Cordelia's eventual ascension to a higher being, and being implanted with the essence of a formal evil power looking to be reborn on earth.

Fortunately the Slayers had been able to end the demon's existence, and Willow, with the help of the Coven in England had been able to call upon Gaia the earth mother to help cleanse the demonic taint from Cordelia and instead strengthen her body and spirit with the spirit of the Earth.

It had been difficult as the demonic taint was strong, but against a power that had literally had a hand in creation ht was swept completely away and with the small gift the earth power had left behind Cordelia was ensured that she would be able to survive the visions she received as she helped Angel. This turn of events had ended forever the machinations of the powerful being looking to be returned to the earth realm so it could dominate the world.

The victory hadn't come without casualties however, two Slayers had died in the fight against Skip and several were severely wounded, but thanks to Slayer healing they were up and ready after only a few weeks.

"Hello?" Cordelia's voice came through the phone and Giles realized he hadn't said anything, "Cordelia," he finally asked, unnecessarily.

"Giles!" the excited squeal came through and Giles actually had to pull the phone from his ear. Cordelia certainly had changed from the spoiled rich brat that he had known in high school. She was a happy, almost bubbly young woman now who had truly found her calling in the world working with Angel and his people. He smiled at her excited voice and said, "How are you this evening?"

"I'm great, we are doing so good out here, thanks for the Slayers, and you know, the funding, it's nice to not have to worry where the next meal is coming from."

Giles smiled, "Think nothing of it my dear, you're doing the same work we are, you need to be supported as well."

He cleared his throat then and said, "As much as it is a joy to speak to you my dear could I speak to Wesley please?"

"Sure," Cordelia said and then apparently pulled the phone from her ear and covered the mouth piece as Giles heard a muffled, "Wes! Phone for you. It's Giles."

There were a few moments and then the phone was picked up, "Rupert how are you old man?"

Giles smiled, "I'm doing well, how are things in L.A.?"

"They're good, as usual. Wolfram and Hart are back to their old tricks," Wesley said sourly.

"Well you couldn't expect them to be out of action forever, it's been almost three years since that business with Skip and the old Power. I'd think we should count ourselves lucky that things didn't turn out worse for us than they did." Giles chastised his friend gently.

"I know Rupert, you're right of course," Wesley conceded, "Still sometimes I just, well I won't say the word, but sometimes I would like to know there's an end in sight."

"I think we all want that, Wesley, however that's not why I called."

"No," Wesley said, "I rather suspected it wasn't. How can I help you?"

Giles quickly gave Wesley a run down on the Vegas situation as well as the symbols and asked if Wesley would be able to help. Having any extra help researching would always be advantageous.

"You know I'll help, gladly," Wesley said, "Simply fax the symbols over and I'll get Fred to start helping me immediately.

Giles smiled, "How is your lovely fiancé?"

Wesley's smile could almost be seen through the phone, "She's fine, excited as I am."

"And Charles," Giles asked, remembering that the young street wise man had once held a candle for the beautiful physicist as well.

"We've settled our differences. Of course it helps that there's a rather attractive young lady who's working diligently at putting her claws into him," Wesley whispered conspiratorially.

Giles laughed and then sobered as he asked the question he needed to out of politeness, "And everyone else?"

Wesley heard the change in mood and said, "You mean everyone as in Angel? He's doing well Rupert, helping people every day. Really I won't tell you that you need to let this go someday but isn't it you that always points out that when a vampire is in control you're not looking at the person but at the thing that killed them?"

Giles had the good graces not to growl at the man for using his own words against him but did say, "Perhaps, however it's harder to do what the mind understands in certain situations."

"I do understand that," Wesley said.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence and then Wesley said, "Well anyway, send those photos along as soon as you can and any information you have and we'll get to work on them."

"Thank you Wesley," Giles said, "and congratulations again."

With that Giles hung up the phone, and gathered the photographs together so he could fax them to L.A. immediately. First he needed to find someone to make sure he used the damn thing the right way.

*****

"What do you mean they lied to us?" Grissom asked, wondering exactly what Sara had seen.

"Exactly what I said," Sara said irritably, and then she softened. Still smarting slightly from the way Gil had acted earlier. They hadn't discussed it yet, deciding they wanted to do it somewhere that they didn't have to worry about being interrupted or overheard. Sometimes secret romances were a pain in the ass.

"They know something about this ritual, something they're not telling us. I could see them talking about it," She stopped and hugger herself before looking at Grissom, "They said something bad it going to happen."

Gil considered her words carefully. He had long since learned that if Sara had seen something then it was almost certainly true. Sometimes she might misinterpret an image or a symbol but when she actually heard things being said they were almost word for word what had happened.

He didn't know what any of this meant however and he certainly didn't have any idea what he was supposed to do about it. Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg were here on direct invitation from the governor of the state; with the full backing of the department of Homeland Security. He didn't have any leverage he could use on them and no way could he threaten to force them out if they didn't tell him what he wanted to know. If he even tried he figured the only thing that would happen is exactly what happened the last time they had F.B.I. involvement in a case and he went against the agent in charge, he was basically put on leave until the case was finished.

He certainly didn't want that to happen again but at the same time couldn't just ignore what Sara was telling him.

Finally he came to a decision, "Ok," he said, getting Sara's attention, "Tomorrow, we're going to have to do some follow up on some of the things we found. I'll suggest that we split up and everyone take a direction."

Sara nodded, following his train of thought, "And when we split up we'll suggest those two split up with us since we know the city better than they do."

"And because they're experts in the field they can help us keep the investigation moving in the right direction," Gil finished. It was a little more underhanded than he was used to working but he was reminded of the old saying about 'desperate times' and so accepted that this was the direction he needed to move in.

Satisfied that they had a plan Grissom said to Sara, "We still need to get some sleep, tomorrow's going to be a big day and we're going to be useless if we don't get some sleep."

Sara nodded and said, "You can have the couch, I'm going out to my SUV."

"You don't have to Sara," Gil said in protest, wanting her close by, "I'll just take my chair, it's comfortable enough."

Sara seemed to consider it but ultimately she shook her head, "I don't think so. Too many questions, and after tonight I think that's the last thing either of us needs."

Gil's face fell slightly, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to…"

Sara cut him off, "I know, and I'm not mad, at least not anymore. I scared you and I know that, and we'll have to talk about it when we really have the chance but we need to be careful. You've worked so hard to get where you are I don't want you to lose it because of me."

Gil almost looked like he'd been shot, "That's not what I'm worried about, Sara, and you know it."

Sara looked at him, sadly and said, "I know that's not what you're worried about. But one of us has to and since you won't I have to. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let this hurt us, hurt you. I plan on keeping that promise. If that means a little loneliness every once and a while then that's what has to happen. I'm ok with that."

"Maybe I'm not," Gil said as he stepped closer to her. He'd waited so long to finally be with her he didn't care what it meant. He only cared that she was in his life; that when she was she made things easier to deal with.

Sara smiled and rested her arm on his, "Maybe, but I still want to be careful. Don't worry, in a few days this case will be over, helpfully, and then we can sit down and decide what we want to do next."

Gil nodded his head, "As long as you know that losing you isn't an option."

Sara nodded and smiled brightly, "Losing you isn't an option either."

With that she nodded her head and moved out of his office. As she did she ran right into Brass.

"Hey Sara," Jim said, "You seen Grissom?"

Sara just tossed her thump over her shoulder, "In there, I'm headed to the parking lot, see you in a few."

Brass shook his head. It was a well known fact that when working on a serious case Sara never went home and instead just slept in her SUV out in the parking lot. She'd shower in the locker room and put on one of the apparently several changes of clothes she kept in there. Some people thought it made her a little strange, Brass on the other hand it spoke to her dedication, and more than just a little loneliness.

Funny thing is, as he considered it, she hadn't done it on a few months.

He shook off the thought as he moved into Grissom's office, carrying several folders of information.

Grissom looked up at him and pulled his glasses off, "What's all that?"

Brass smiled and said, "Have I got a story for you."


	6. Chapter 6

6. Investigations 2

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: I had planned to make this the revelations chapter but it got too long, so that will be next, I hope you all enjoy this.

Grissom looked up at Brass and said, "What have you got?" Brass smiled and said, "Well it turns out that cop in L.A., Stein," Grissom nodded remembering the name, as Brass handed him the files, "Well apparently, Detective Stein kept copies of case files dealing with Harris and his friends, apparently he figured that someone would go after them someday and he wanted to be ready."

Grissom opened the files and leafed through them. What he saw startled him. Pages and pages of police reports, discussing all manner of crimes, and names he recognized, such as Xander's and Willow's, even this woman Dawn both had mentioned. But he also saw names he did not recognize, such as Summers, Giles, Osbourne, and Chase.

Finally Grissom looks up at Brass and says, "I assume you went through all this already?"

Brass just smiles and pulls out his notebook, "I might've made a few notes."

Grissom gave his friend a 'go ahead' motion and brass did exactly that.

"Like I said before Harris was born in Sunnydale, everything else I covered, blah, blah, but here's where things get interesting. Things definitely not in any records I could find."

Jim studied his notes and said, "Some of the highlights for Harris are: a friend of his, by the name of Jesse McNally was reported missing their sophomore year, but Harris says he's dead, how does he know? Various reports of brawls in the local club, but he never got kicked out. There was a fire at the school, he was questioned and released, no charges filed. There was an attack during a parent/teacher meeting; according to witnesses the attackers knew Harris and his friends. He was suspected of being involved in the theft of military weaponry, no charges filed. There was a bomb found, in the basement of the school, never reported to the feds, interesting that his school blew up a few months later, don't you think?"

Brass looked at Grissom who was listening intently to what he was saying. Brass looked back at his notes, "There was a fire at city hall, he was there, questioned, no charges filed. He was a witness in a murder of a girl found dead in the high school library. She was identified as a Jamaican national, a teenager, but no record of her entering the country. He found a dead body at a construction sight he was working at. Oh yeah and he was at the scene when an unidentified white male came into the backyard of a friend of his and shot two people, one of them died."

Grissom sat there contemplating what he heard and then asked, "What about school, education, or employment?"

Grissom reconsidered his notes and said, "Mediocre at best student. Barely graduated. Didn't get anywhere near college. Had a series of dead end jobs till he fell into construction and turns out he had a knack for it. Wasn't too long before he was promoted to foreman. He was in charge of the job to rebuild the high school. That was the site where he found the body. He had that job till Sunnydale turned into a crator and he ended up in L.A."

"Where he somehow got involved with a Private Investigator and caught the attention of Homeland Security," Grissom said, summing up Xander's file.

"Right, interesting isn't it?" Brass asked.

Grissom nodded and said, "And Willow?"

Brass turned a page and said, "As poor a student as Harris was, Rosenberg is the polar opposite. Straight A student. Genius level IQ. Even took over teaching the computer class when the computer teacher, a Miss Jenny Calendar was found murdered in the home of Rupert Giles. He was the school librarian. Interestingly he was questioned on her murder but never charged."

"Seems like a lot of questioning for this group that never led to charges," Grissom observed.

"Yeah, Stein said, that he thought it had something to do with the mayor but he was never sure," Brass said, relaying something the other detective had said.

"What else about Willow?" Grissom asked.

"Well, same story as with Harris really," Brass said, looking at his notes again, "She was at the mall when there was an explosion, found a few dead bodies here and there. It was her girlfriend that was killed by the backyard shooter."

He took a deep breath and summed up, "Basically both these people have been involved in enough investigations that something, somewhere should have stuck, unless they really are clean, or they had some very serious protection."

"Which do you think it is?" Grissom asked, fairly certain he already knew the answer.

Brass shrugged, "I believe where there's smoke there's fire, and this file is a lot of smoke. I can't believe they've never actually been charged with anything and never spent any time in jail. I just don't know."

Grissom considered it, "There is another possibility: they really were trying to help people and the reason they didn't get arrested is because they were given a pass by the cops."

Brass shook his head, "I don't know, Stein was pretty sure they were dirty, and, I mean he's a cop. I got to take what he says under serious consideration."

"Unless he was one of the dirty cops that were in the Sunnydale P.D.," Grissom suggested.

That thought seemed to bring Brass up short and he said, "Even so. Even if Stein is just being an asshole, and even if these two were on the right side of things as far as helping people. That still doesn't excuse breaking the law, and it still doesn't explain why they were never arrested."

Grissom nodded his head as he flipped through the files on his desk and said, "These files are only part of the story. There's a lot we don't know, and until we have something that no one can ignore there's nothing we can do. These two have the backing of the mayor, governor, and the federal government. There's no way we can get them out of here and there's nothing here," he indicated the file, "that we can hold them on. This is all circumstantial, and no one's going to bust a couple federal agents on circumstantial evidence from their time in high school. It's just like they were cops."

Brass actually seemed to bristle at that, "These two aren't cops. They're playing cop at best. I don't trust them, and I don't want them here."

Grissom shrugged and said, "I'm not too comfortable with them here either. But although these files show interesting pasts for both of them, I got to say Jim, if these two can help us find who killed the Lawson family I'm going to take their help and I'll do so happily."

Brass considered Grissom's words; on one hand he'd always prided himself on doing the right thing, no matter how hard it was, especially when it came to his job. Sometimes only when it came to his job, remembering his own marital indiscretions. On the other hand these two were federal agents and they seemed to know what they were talking about. Grissom had told him earlier about some of the insights they had given.

Brass finally said, "You're right we can't really stop them but we definitely need to keep an eye on them the entire time they're here."

"I agree," Grissom said, "that's why Sara and I are going to have them with us starting in the morning."

Brass looked confused so Grissom told him his plan and his intentions.

Brass nodded, "Divide and Conquer."

"It's a classic for a reason," Grissom observed, "Although in this case I don't know how successful it will be but we'll see."

Brass rubbed his hand over his face and stifled another yawn, "Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky. I'll see if I can keep digging but with everything I need to do with this Lawson case it's going to take a back burner."

"That's fine," Grissom said, "They've gone this long, if they are guilty of anything it can wait until after we solve this."

Brass picked up the folders off Grissom's desk and said, "I'm going back to my office, see if I can get a couple hours. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Grissom looked at his watch and realized that the sun would already be starting to brighten the sky and said, "Tell me about it."

*****

The plane was making final preparations for descent into the bowl shaped valley that held the city of Las Vegas. The two sole passengers on the plane were both silent as they watched the land below slowly rise to meet them.

The younger of the two, although only by four years glanced over at her companion. The sun was shining in through the window, illuminating her face and it was obvious that her eyes were closed.

Dawn's forehead wrinkled in thought as she wondered what the woman could be thinking. Finally, curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "What's on your mind?"

The blonde woman shrugged and opened her eyes, "My dad's down there somewhere."

"I know," Dawn said, "That's one of the reasons we brought you. It'll be nice having someone that knows the area."

"I don't know it that well, Dawn," her companion said, "I only lived here for a little while."

"That's still more than any of us, besides look at it this way; you can see your dad."

The cheer in Dawn's voice sounded strained, ever to her, but the other woman had the decency not to point it out and instead said, "I don't know, we didn't exactly part on the best of terms. I haven't seen him since," she stopped and had to think about it, "God, I haven't seen him in three years; since he came to L.A. just before I was Called."

Dawn nodded, she knew the story.

Mother deceased, estranged from her father, a cop working in Las Vegas, Ellie Brass had been a junkie headed for a bad ending before that fateful day in May when Willow had worked her magic turning every girl in the world that could have been a Slayer into one.

The Scooby gang had been pretty shocked when they found out it included those that were well over the age of usually being Called.

So in the beginning not only had the Scoobies had to deal with girls all over the world being turned into Slayers, but adult women as well.

It had been an interesting turn of events, but as it turned out it also worked to their advantage.

Now they had women all over the world that were willing to act as den mothers to teenaged Slayers. Women that understood what it meant to be a Slayer, what it meant to fight the darkness, never knowing if today was your last day.

Ellie was a different case however, although she'd been twenty-one when she was Called, she was extremely immature for her age. By her own admission she was not ready to be a leader, and barely ready to be a Slayer.

She'd had no idea what was happening when she was in her apartment and started feeling the worst pain she'd ever felt in her entire life. Unbeknownst to her, she was going through an accelerated withdraw as her new Slayer metabolism burned the drugs out of her system that had been a near constant companion for the past few years. It was a treatment that worked faster than any drug treatment center could, even if pain was the cost for the speed.

After two hours of what she could only describe as Hell, she stood up on still shaky legs, took one look at herself in the mirror, and threw up.

All the while she was emptying the nonexistent contents of her stomach into the toilet her mind was battered with what she had done, and what she had become. Without the haze of the drugs to dull the pain she was forced to deal with exactly what she was. It was not a happy conclusion that she came to.

Worst of all she realized that she had all but cut her father out of her life. True, she had some issues with him, but in the newly acquired clarity that she was forced to deal with she saw that he had truly tried to make amends to her, on several occasions, most recently when he'd come to L.A. to help her, and in each case she spurned him, all but spitting on him and his efforts.

She didn't know if she could ever repair that damage but she knew that she had to try, someday.

First she needed to find out what had happened to her.

It had been only a few hours later that she'd felt what she could only describe as a pull that she had responded to and the next thing she knew she was outside an old hotel called the Hyperion.

She had gone inside and met some of the most interesting people in her life. People that had accepted her without question, and were more than willing to explain to her what had happened to her and why.

Here she had found acceptance, and a place to belong.

It was a good start.

Now three years later here she was, on a private jet, accompanying one of the most important people in the Council and one of her best friends on an operation to Las Vegas.

An operation that she had been clearly told would lead to an inevitable confrontation with her father.

Dawn had been kind enough to offer her an out, telling Ellie that she could take someone else with her but she was offering her the spot first given where it was and who was there.

Ellie had been tempted to tell Dawn to find someone else; not sure if she was ready to face her father just yet. Even after the three years of working with the Slayers, and the counselor they had on staff she still had some unreleased guilt that she was dealing with and she realized that if she didn't go now, and try to make amends she'd never go.

So here she was.

The plane touched down gently and after decelerating made its way to a private hanger. As she and Dawn climbed out of the plane's climate controlled environment and into the already oppressive heat of the Las Vegas morning Ellie was reminded of one of the reasons why she'd left Las Vegas in the first place.

"God it's like hitting a wall," Dawn commented from behind her, "How did you live here?"

Ellie shrugged, "You get used to it after while, even if you don't want to."

Dawn nodded, accepting the explanation as they pulled their luggage and equipment from the plane.

They were just finishing up when an SUV pulled up and Xander climbed out of the driver side.

"Xander!" Dawn called out giving a decidedly unprofessional squeal of pleasure as she ran to her friend's open arms.

Ellie couldn't help but smile as she watched the two friends embrace, remembering first meeting the two of them three years prior at the Hyperion.

They'd both been through a lot since then, it was obvious on their faces, but in this moment, they weren't warrior and crack researcher, they were just two friends without a care in the world.

Too soon the moment was over and the embrace ended and their respective professional masks were somewhat back in place and Xander made is way over to Ellie who also embraced him, although not quite as energetically as Dawn had.

Xander had been there for Ellie from day one, helping her adjust to what had happened to her.

He'd been an excellent listener, allowing her to vent all of the frustrations of her life out to him without judgment of complaint.

He'd shown Ellie what a good man could be like, a man just like her father in some ways, but so very different in so many others. She didn't know what she'd of done if he hadn't been there those first few weeks, helping her to adjust.

It had created a bond of friendship that was still strong to this day.

Xander hugged Ellie tightly and then pulled away. The first thing he asked was, "Are you sure you're going to be ok?"

Ellie smiled, always wanting to know if everyone was ok first. That was the Xander she knew, no matter what people had said about the changes he'd undergone. Nothing could change Xander, nothing.

Ellie nodded and said, "I'll be fine Xander. I'm here to help you guys first. My own personal stuff comes later."

Xander started to protest as did Dawn but Ellie cut them both off, "No, we have to find out what's going on here first. The thing with my father has waited this long, it can wait a little longer. Besides I'm not in a great big rush to have him refuse to talk to me."

"That's not going to happen, Ellie," Xander said with conviction.

"I've met your dad already, and although he's a hard ass like I've rarely met there's fairness to him too. You're his daughter, and he'll listen to you, I'm sure of it."

"But see that's just it, I'm not his daughter, not really," Ellie said sadly. It had been an accident, her finding out. A standard review of her medical records along with her parents had revealed that with the blood typing of her parents, compared with her own there was no possible way her father could really be her father.

It had stung when she had found out, and one more level of guilt that she felt when she realized how hard he had tried with her even though he must have known she wasn't really his.

Xander shook his head at her, "Parenthood is more than blood Ellie. Your dad was your dad no matter what the blood says, have a little faith in him, and have a little in yourself; you've come a long way."

Ellie nodded, still unsure, but hopeful enough that she was willing to at least try to believe Xander.

*****

Grissom and his team were back around the table by 6 AM going over what they had and what the lab had come up with in the few hours they had been away to try and recharge for another long day.

Grissom looked around the table at his team and although he noticed a lot of coffee cups, extra large, they all looked clean, alert, and ready to go.

"Ok, our visitors should be here in a few moments so let me get assignments out of the way before they get here," Grissom said.

Grissom looked at Catherine, "Catherine, you and Warrick are on boot detail with Brass. He's going to be hitting the stores quick as possible and knocking them out. The boot treads we found indicate the boots are fairly new, or at least not very often worn. Go back through their purchases as far as you think you need to, but try and track it down to a manageable list of names."

"The boots were size eleven," Warrick said, looking at his notes, "Not unique but uncommon enough that we might get lucky."

Grissom nodded then turned to Nick, "Nick I want you and Greg to start running through the receipts we pulled out of the house. Trace through what these people did the last week or so. If our killers picked them because they fit some preconceived notion of perfection then they had to have been watching them. See if anyone remembers anything out of the ordinary."

"You got it, Grissom," Nick said as he looked to Greg who nodded then said, "I'll also see if they've come up with anything on that sample I sent over to the university."

"Good," Grissom nodded.

Then he looked to Sara, and put their plan into motion, "Sara I want you to take one of our visitors and start going over everything we pulled out of that house. We're looking for anything from our guys. Go back to the house and go over it with a fine toothed comb."

Sara nodded, although somewhat reluctantly. She knew she needed to do this but the prospect of going back to the house, especially with someone she didn't know well made her nervous. It was a risk considering it would be very difficult to explain if she had an "episode" when she was with this Xander guy.

She pushed past the nervousness however and said as if it was something she'd just come up with, "I'll take Xander he said he's good at the why's and how's people think. Maybe he can see something we haven't yet."

Grissom smiled only slightly at her and finally said, "That leaves me with Willow,"

"Leaves you with me what," a voice said from behind him and Grissom looked to see his visitors had returned with some additions.

He looked at the two new people and his mouth nearly fell open in shock.

The first one was a thin girl, with long brown hair well past her shoulders; she was several inches shorter than he was but carried herself with confidence. He saw that confidence mirrored by the strength in her eyes.

What surprised him was how young she looked. It was obvious that this was their "language expert" but he couldn't believe it considering she didn't look much older than nineteen or twenty.

The other person was a complete shock to him as he already knew her. From behind him he heard someone's voice say, "Ellie?"

What was she doing here? What was she doing with these people?

There were more questions and the last thing he wanted was more questions on top of the burning ones he already had running through his mind.

His internal discussion was ended prematurely when Willow stepped forward and repeated her question, "What leaves you with me?"

Grissom shook his head clear and said, "I'm just organizing assignments. I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of putting you with members of my team, we know Vegas better than you do and thought that would be more efficient."

Willow and Xander looked at one another and then shared a knowing look with Ellie and Dawn. This was a clear case of divide and conquer.

Gil Grissom, according to everything that they'd researched was a very tenacious when he had unanswered questions. He wasn't going to let go until he was satisfied.

Willow and Xander had resigned themselves to this fact and had discussed the possibility of letting at least some of these people in on what really went on in the world before coming to the lab this morning.

Giles had been in on that discussion and naturally had been less than enthusiastic with the prospect but understood their reasoning. If this Sara Sidle was in fact the one that had been looking in on them, and if she had some power then she either already knew or she would need to.

Given the relationship they could sense between her and Dr. Grissom then it was fairly obvious that he was going to be informed as well. Where it went from there however was anyone's guess, but Giles had, as always, advised caution.

Xander looked back at Grissom and said, "Who do I get?"

Sara felt herself flush at the way he asked the question and the smile he gave when he did so. She didn't know where it had come from but she shook it off quickly and answered for Grissom, "You get me."

Several eyes widened at the way she said that and even Grissom looked back at her with a bewildered look on his face, his one eyebrow raising in question. Sara felt the flush turn into a full-blown blush of embarrassment at her comment and she put her head down for a second as she tried to get herself under control.

When she raised her head she found several looks being thrown her way ranging from embarrassment to amusement from her teammates.

Grissom cleared his throat, "Xander, you and Sara are going to go over everything from the house, possibly go back and go over it again. We were hoping that you might catch something we missed."

Xander nodded, seriousness returning to his face, "I'll see what I can do."

"Willow," Grissom began, turning his attention to her, "I thought we could work together, go over anything on the computer, and I want to do a search to see if anything out there matches this. I have a hard time believing this is the first time something like this has happened. These people were too well organized to be first timers."

Willow nodded, "I agree, I'll set up a search program to go through all the data bases I have access to and see what we come up with."

Grissom again nodded and then turned his attention to the two unknowns.

Dawn seemed to take that as her cue and stepped forward, "Ellie and I will be working on trying to translate the symbols. All we really need is some place to plug in our laptops and some peace and quiet."

Grissom nodded, "I think we can handle that but if you don't mind me asking, how do you know Ellie?"

Dawn played it beautifully, acting as if she just remembered that these people knew Ellie, "Oh that's right, you work with her father, I'd forgotten?"

Dawn then went into a quick three minute rendition of how she'd met Ellie at UCLA when she was doing some research for her Master's. Ellie had commented that she'd gotten herself cleaned up shortly after her and Warrick's help in L.A. a few years ago and decided to get her life together. She'd returned to school, and done extremely well in foreign languages and was going for her Bachelor's when she met Dawn who recognized talent when she saw it and hired her for the company she worked for doing independent work for Homeland Security when they needed it.

The explanation was short, concise, and clearly plausible, just like everything else these people had told him which also told Grissom that there was more to the story than they were telling.

He didn't have time for that right now however and instead said, "Ok, let's get to work."

Everyone nodded and started to get up.

Ellie came over to Grissom and said, "Dr. Grissom?"

"It's just Grissom, Ellie," he told her neutrally, "what can I do for you?"

Ellie looked at her father's friend and asked, "Is my dad around? I'd kind of like to see him, maybe talk to him for a minute."

Grissom considered it and realized there was no way he could prevent it even if he wanted to, Ellie was going to be here, obviously, for as long as it took to solve this case and there was no way to keep her father from knowing she was here.

Even though he knew how much it had nearly killed Brass when he'd come back from Los Angeles after again being given the cold shoulder by his daughter Grissom sensed that this wasn't the same Ellie and simply said, "He should be in his office."

Ellie nodded and said, "Thanks, I'll find it."

Grissom nodded, as she turned and said, "Dawn, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Take your time Ellie," the young woman said, "It'll take a few minutes to get set up."

Ellie nodded and left the conference room.

Grissom watched her go and then turned his attention to Dawn who was setting up in a corner of the room that Grissom and his team had taken over for the duration of the case.

He couldn't help but wander over to her, fascinated by the idea that she could be a language expert so young.

Dawn saw him approaching and stopped what she was doing, giving the man her full attention.

"Not what you expected, huh," she asked him with a small smile.

"Honestly, no," Grissom said, "You said you were working on your Master's at UCLA, how old are you?"

"Dr. Grissom, don't you know you shouldn't ask a woman her age?" Willow said from beside him.

He looked at them both and Dawn took pity on him and said, "I was just doing research on my Master's at UCLA, I'm actually doing my post graduate work at Oxford. That's where I got my Bachelor's as well, and for the record, I'm twenty."

Grissom was just shocked, at twenty years old she would have had to have flown through her Bachelor's work, taking more than a full load every single semester to have accomplished that feat.

As if sensing what he was thinking Dawn clarified and said, "After Sunnydale fell into the ground my sister and I moved to Rome and then I went to England. I was able to take some accelerated courses and test out of a high school equivalency and then from there test out for basic requirements. After that I was sponsored into Oxford by a friend of the family and from there the rest is history."

"So basically in three years you've completed your high school education, begun, and completed your Bachelor's requirements and are now working on your Master's degree?"

Dawn nodded, "Sounds impossible but if you take heavy loads both spring and fall, and also do some summer and winter work it's really not that hard at all. True my brain felt like it was ready to dribble out of my ears but that's nothing, you should see what Willow did in college."

Willow's eyes suddenly went wide at the sudden shift in conversation that put her as the center of attention.

A few years ago her face would be as red as her hair at this point but now she simply took the shock in stride and said, "It wasn't that big a deal, Dawn. I had a head start with all the college courses I took while I was still in high school."

"Says the PhD.," Dawn joked her good naturedly.

"I'm not a PhD yet," Willow corrected her young friend, "I still have to do my dissertation."

Dawn scoffed, "A formality and you know it. Giles said you're ready and so do your advisors. They can't figure out why you're dragging your feet."

Grissom perked up, "Giles? Is that Rupert Giles?"

"Yeah," Dawn said, somewhat suspiciously, "He was the librarian at Sunnydale High and he was the friend that sponsored me into Oxford. How do you know him?"

Grissom covered quickly, and said, "The name popped up when we first arrested Xander; I just assumed it was the same person."

Dawn and Willow shared a look. There was no way this man ever made assumptions, meaning someone had been doing background work into all of them and must have found a source. That was a problem that they'd have to look into at some point but for now, they needed to get to work.

"Well," Dawn said, getting things moving again, "I'm ready here, I'll just start working on those symbols and see what I come up with."

Grissom nodded and Willow said, "Come on Dr. Grissom that was Dawn's subtle way of telling us to go away and let her work."

Grissom allowed himself to be pulled out of the room. Glancing back just as he was about to leave he saw that the young woman's face was already a mask of concentration and he doubted she'd be aware of anyone or anything coming in to the room.

*****

Even if Ellie hadn't had someone point her in the direction of her father's office, finding it would have been a simple matter of following her nose, and following her feelings.

One thing she'd learned in the three years she'd been a Slayer was to trust her instincts and trust her senses, and right now both were telling her exactly where her father was.

As she walked down the hall she saw more than a few men in the hall surreptitiously checking her out and it caused a slight smile to form on her lips.

That was another thing she'd learned, this lesson was thanks to Faith.

Ellie had never really been happy with herself, and never had any self-confidence. She'd poisoned everything she'd ever touched and turned herself into a whore and a junky, convinced that the only thing she was good for was laying on her back.

Faith had seemed to sense this early on and had taken her under her wing just as Xander had. If Xander had been her sounding board, Faith had been her rock. Between them they had pulled her out of the shell she had created around her and taught her to live again.

Faith had also gone the extra mile to teach her that she could be beautiful and could enjoy turning men's heads without feeling like a whore for it; which was why she had the smile.

The smile left her face however as she reached the door to her father's office.

She looked in and could see her father sitting at his desk working, most likely on the case. She knew from experience that he wouldn't be sitting for long. He was a hands-on type of person and would most likely be leaving to follow up leads soon, which meant she needed to do this now.

She was going to knock, then thought better of it, and instead opened the door and stepped in.

It was a testimony to her own nervousness that she wasn't as silent as she tried to be and her dad heard the door open and looked up.

In another time and place she might had smiled at the poleaxed look on his face at seeing her but this was neither.

Instead she just stepped forward and said, "Hi, daddy."

He came to his feet, slowly, and came around his desk, never taking his eyes off of her.

Ellie saw the hope, and fear in his eyes and felt a stab of guilt knowing she was responsible for both. She started to move forward once again, and then hesitated. Then she pushed down her fear, and rushed to her father, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

*****

Jim Brass felt like he couldn't breath as he saw his daughter step into his office. The last time he had seen her was three years ago, when he went to L.A. to help her find a missing friend that had ended up dead.

In all actuality Brass had accepted that he'd probably never see his daughter again, but now here she was, standing right in front of him and looking clean, sober, and dressed like a million bucks.

His first thought was that she'd moved up from street walking to high price call girl. He cursed himself for the thought even as he dismissed it.

He didn't know why she was here, but even if it was because she was in trouble, again, and needed him to bail her out, again, that was ok by him. He'd bail her out a million times if that's what it took to make up for all the mistakes he'd made as a father.

Suddenly there was no more time for thought as his daughter seemed to almost teleport across the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around him.

It took a few moments for him to realize that the sounds he heard were a combination of her crying and choked apologies.

Finally he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, telling her everything would be alright.

Eventually her sobs quieted down and she released her father Jim winced slightly as he felt like his ribs were bruised.

He guided her into the chair across from his desk and then dragged his own chair around so he could be near her.

"Ellie, it's so good to see you," he said.

Ellie smiled, and Jim was again amazed at how clear her eyes were. She'd been clean for a while obviously and it made him feel good that she'd finally gotten over the drug use that had controlled her.

"Thanks," Ellie began, "I wasn't so sure you'd be happy to see me. I haven't been a very good daughter for a long time, and after last time I was afraid I'd burned all my bridges."

"That will never happen," Jim told her sternly.

A thousand watt smile lit up Ellie's face and Jim couldn't help but try and match that smile with one of his own.

"You still didn't tell me what you're doing here," Jim said, catching sight of the clock and cursing silently, knowing he needed to leave.

Ellie caught the look and said, "I know you have to go, the Lawson case has to come first."

There was no bitterness in her voice, Jim noticed, and then a question popped into his mind, "How do you know about the Lawson case?"

"Funny story, actually," Ellie said and then launched into the explanation they had all agreed on previously. She'd hit rock bottom and decided to make a change, got clean, went to school, met Dawn.

Ellie told the story with conviction, letting her pride in what she'd accomplished shine through and her father, although obviously skeptical, he wouldn't be a good cop if he wasn't, seemed willing to accept her story, for now.

"So you're here to work on the case," Jim asked, trying not to let the worry in his voice.

Ellie caught that too and decided to alleviate some of her father's…her dad's concerns and said, "Only in a low key capacity," Ellie lied, "Dawn and I are going to work on translating the symbols. Well actually Dawn's going to work on translating them. I'm going to try and help and try and learn something while I'm at it. She's really incredibly smart and she says I am too. I don't have quite the gift she does for languages but I'm pretty good apparently."

Jim smiled at the happy tone in her voice and said, "Well, I've…god I don't even know what to say."

Ellie shook her head and took his hand, "You don't have to say anything, dad. I'm the one that has to make the apologies. You tried so many times and I wasn't ready to let you in, I am now. I'm here to work, and I'm here to make amends, and I'm here to tell you that if you'll still be my dad, I'd be happy to still be your daughter."

Jim was tempted to pinch himself to make sure this was really happening. For once in his life things seemed to be working out for him.

A dark voice in the back of his mind whispered that there was no way it could last.

*****

Grissom had shown Willow a place to work of her own and then had excused himself for a moment.

He went wandering around the lab, intent on finding someone he could trust to do a little digging for him. Someone that wouldn't mind, wouldn't ask too many questions, and above all, wouldn't go telling Ecklie.

Finally Grissom found the person he was looking for, "Sophia?"

Detective Sophia Curtis looked up from some photos she was studying and said, "Hey, Grissom, what can I do for you?"

Grissom studied the former CSI turned detective and again cursed Ecklie for one of his many mistakes in treating her so badly that the lab lost a valuable asset.

He shook off those thoughts as useless and said, "I need a favor. Very under the radar."

"Does this have anything to do with your guests," the smart detective asked.

Grissom smiled slightly, and said, "As a matter of fact."

She pulled out a small pad and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know how a twenty year old is ready for her Masters and a twenty-five year old is ready for her doctorate. I know it's not completely unheard of but that's usually people that complete high school early and go from there. Both of these young women completed high school at the seventeen or eighteen and have blown through their education at a near unheard of rate; I want to know where they did it."

Curtis nodded and said, "I'll see what I can find but don't you think someone in Homeland Security would have already verified their credentials before hiring them?"

"Unless," Grissom said, "they weren't hired by Homeland Security for what they say they were."

He left that suggestion hang in the air before saying, "I need to get back. Let me know what you find, please."

Curtis nodded, considering the implications of what he had said, and what it could mean about who exactly they've let into the investigation.

*****

Xander sighed in frustration as he looked again at the writings on the wall of the Lawson's basement. He'd been staring at the markings on the wall for three hours, trying to see something that would help him figure out what had happened here and why.

He'd already checked the spot that the girls had been killed at. Been over every inch of that space and used every bit of the hopped up senses that he could. The problem is super senses didn't do you any good if there was nothing to find. Whoever these people were they'd covered their tracks well. He could only barely tell that there were multiple scents that didn't belong to the family, but that was all he could tell.

Whoever these people were they wanted to make sure that there was no way to trace them.

Sara was busy collecting additional samples in the kitchen, making some excuse of wanting to compare the scene to what the other CSI, Brown had found, but he knew she just wanted to get away from him.

He felt bad for the woman, really. It was obvious from her reactions that her abilities weren't something she was in full control of and being in this house was obviously disturbing her. She had needed to get away from him probably so that he wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Of course with his senses amped up it was hard not to hear her slight hesitations as what was probably another wave of nausea hit her.

He rubbed his hand through his hair in frustration and stepped away from the wall, pulling out his cell phone as he did.

The phone rang twice and was picked up, "Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."

Xander smiled at the voice and said, "Hi Cordy."

"Hi Xander," Cordelia said. The two had long since settled their differences at his cheating on her with Willow so long ago. High school romance problems just seemed too trivial when compared to saving the world every week. They were now friends and that was nice, for both of them.

"Are you still working that thing in Vegas," the Seer asked.

"Yeah," Xander said in frustration, "and it's driving me nuts. Cordy these people are bad, I mean really bad. Sunnydale bad and I can't get anything."

"I know," Cordelia said, her earlier cheeriness evaporating, "I saw the pictures when I was helping Wes, earlier."

Xander winced at that. He knew Cordelia was more than tough enough to handle it; still, no one wanted someone they liked to be faced with that kind of ugliness.

"That's kind of why I called," Xander said, "I wanted to talk to Wes, see if he had anything."

"Sure," Cordy responded, "hold on."

It was a moment later and the phone was again picked up, "Xander?"

"Hi Wes," Xander said, "How goes the research?"

"Slowly," the former Watcher said, frustration evident in his voice, "I'm sure I've seen this before but I can't for the life of me figure out where. Just when I think I'm close to something it slips from my grasp."

Xander considered the comment, and let it percolate in the back of his head. Dawn had said something similar an hour ago when he'd called her and according to her, the researchers in Cleveland were saying the same thing.

A sudden thought popped into Xander's mind and he decided he needed to go with it before he lost it.

"Wes," Xander began, voicing his thoughts, "what if part of this ritual, or part of what was done was some kind of obscuring spell to keep people from being able to figure it out?"

There was silence on the other end and the Xander heard, "Bloody hell, of course, my god I cannot believe how stupid I've been. I should have recognized it."

"Wes," Xander asked, confusion on the sudden turn in his friend's demeanor, "what are you talking about?"

"Xander you're right," Wesley explained, "I've seen this sort of thing before, well read about it. It's a very high level spell, actually only theoretical really since there are but a handful of people that have ever existed that could even use it."

"How powerful are we talking about," Xander asked, certain he didn't want to hear the answer.

"Willow powerful," Wes responded, 'Yup, not what he wanted to hear.'

"Okaaay," Xander said, trying to think of where that left them, "So what do we do about it?"

"Nothing," Wesley said, "That's the thing about this spell. Once it's cast the only way to break it is for people to become aware of it."

"Which we have," Xander observed.

"Right," Wes agreed, "That means that we should notice the effects beginning to lift over the next twelve to twenty-four hours."

"That long?" Xander winced, "Isn't there any way to speed that up?"

"I'm afraid not Xander," Wes said, regret in his voice, "As I said this is a very powerful spell. To mess with the perceptions of normal people isn't that hard. Most people are unaware of the way the world truly works so are easily deceived. Doing the same to people such as us, those 'in the know' so to speak requires much more power, and more importantly, subtlety. This isn't like hammering a nail into a board it's more like building a ship in a bottle. It requires a great deal of power and control to achieve."

"So that means were dealing with someone with a great deal of power, and more importantly, knowledge?" Xander asked.

"Yes, that type of person is very, very dangerous Xander," the concern is Wesley's voice was evident; "I think it might be a good idea to get some additional help in there."

"I don't know, Wes," Xander said, thinking about the obvious, if unsaid offer, "This case started with us coming here to check out who or what has been spying on us and has exploded into this. These people are already unsure of us and flying in a bunch of our 'Specialists' might make things very hard."

"Be that as it may," Wesley said, authority entering his voice, "I'll discuss this with Giles when I call him after we're done. I need to let him know about the spell anyway so they can start to get the effects cleared away."

Xander nodded unnecessarily into the phone then caught himself and said, "I'll call Dawn as well, let her know."

"Excellent," Wesley responded, "I'll call Giles at once, unless there's something else you needed?"

"Not really," Xander sighed, "If it's going to take half a day to a day for this to clear then that's what it takes. I just don't like thinking about what these people are up to while we're basically trying to get our heads cleared."

"Nor do I," Wesley agreed, "All the more reason to inform Giles and perhaps adjust our initial plan of attack."

"I got the hint, Wesley," Xander said with a little frustration, "You call Giles and you two talk it out, fair enough?"

"Fair enough," Wesley answered, "I'll talk to you later, Xander."

"See ya Wes," and then he hung up.

Xander hit the cancel button on his phone and was just getting ready to dial Dawn's number when he felt something very wrong suddenly enter his awareness. He slammed his phone closed and slid it into his pocket as he bolted for the stairs, pulling his pistol as he went and replacing the magazine for some of his more unique rounds. He nearly vaulted up the stairs as he headed for the source.

*****

Sara didn't know what had happened, one minute she had been collecting evidence on the floor, wanting to recheck the stain that Warrick and Greg had found and the next moment there was someone grabbing her and throwing her up against the wall.

A hand clamped over her mouth with the strength of a vice as she tried to scream but even to her the sound was barely a muffled squeak.

She looked into the eyes of her attacker and froze, all fight leaving limbs for a moment as she looked into eyes that weren't there.

Where the eyes should be there were just empty sockets, two black holes in a face that seemed so normal, except for the missing eyes.

The…thing holding her tilted it's head to the side, as if examining her and then a voice that sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a very deep well said, "You're special. You have such pretty eyes."

That comment snapped Sara out of her frozen fear and she lashed out with all the self-defense skills she had.

She slammed the heel of her hand into the wrist, while snapping a kick out at the knee.

The combination of blows should have knocked the hand away from her face, and broken the knee of her attacker, in reality all it did was injure her wrist and nearly break her ankle.

The thing smiled at her and said, "You're feisty too, that could be very fun. I haven't had a human female in a while."

She shuddered at that, hating herself for showing weakness, but the implication of the statement was clear and it was one thing she couldn't stand.

Then suddenly Xander practically appeared in the door way, partially covered by shadows, a pistol in his hand.

He took up a classic stance and said, "Let her go freako, now."

Her captor seemed almost bored and said, "You're out of your league, boy. Put your pop gun away and run. I might even let you live if you go right now."

"I don't think so," Xander said, his voice taking on an arctic tone. It made Sara shudder and it wasn't even being directed at her. The thing holding her paid it no mind and said, "Your bullets don't scare me little boy, all you're going to do is annoy me. You don't even know what you're dealing with."

"Funny," Xander said, stepping fully into the room, "I was going to say the same thing to you."

Sara suddenly felt something fill the room, something that made all the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and would have probably had her running like her life depended on it if she could.

Apparently she wasn't the only one that felt it because her attacker seemed to stiffen slightly and he looked over his shoulder at Xander.

Sara followed his gaze and froze.

The rage on Xander Harris' face was unlike any she had ever seen. He looked as if he were ready to explode at any moment.

But that wasn't all that had her staring in numb shock and horror.

It wasn't a trick of the light, and it wasn't her imagination…Xander Harris' eyes were glowing green.


	7. Chapter 7

7. Revelations I

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: Here it is, the big reveal. I didn't want it to happen too soon but I think it's time. I hope everyone likes it.

AN2: I didn't make Xander's fight that big a deal, didn't want to go overboard. I think this works, as well as the explanation I give for his rounds. Hope it works for everyone, although I've learned you can't please everyone, but then like I've heard many other authors say, it's my story and I'm sticking to it :)

It was like some otherworldly Mexican standoff. That was what Sara was thinking as she watched the thing holding her and Xander stare one another down. If it weren't for the fact that Xander's eyes were still glowing with that eerie green, and the thing holding her didn't have any eyes at all, it would seem like a simple hostage situation; something she'd been in before. At first she thought she was in the middle of one of her episodes, or was dreaming and didn't know it. She half expected to wake up in her car at any moment and realize it had all been her imagination.

She'd quickly dismissed that idea as the pain in her face began to grow unbearable. The thing was still holding her against the wall with its hand clamped firmly over her face. Apparently it wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon, probably figuring it was safer with a hostage.

Xander took another step forward and her captor finally decided to speak, "That's close enough, Primal."

Xander chuckled, an evil sound in Sara's opinion, "Ha, Primal, is that what you demons are calling me now a days?"

'demons?' Sara thought.

The 'demon' shrugged, "It's well known that you were given a Primal spirit and that you now use your power against us."

"There's no word for what I was given," Xander clarified, "The last time anyone did anything like what was done to me language hadn't even been formed yet; at least not human language."

The demon glanced at Sara and then back at Xander and said, "I am taking her with me."

"No," Xander said, taking yet another step closer and shifting so he had a cleaner shot that didn't endanger Sara with its trajectory.

"I take her, or I kill her right here, what's it to be?"

Xander's grin only widened, "You're bluffing and we both know it. If you wanted to kill her I'd of found her in a pool of blood when I got here. You need her for something and I'm willing to bet that whatever it is, you need her alive."

"And you're willing to gamble her life on that assumption," the thing asked seemingly shocked, "I'd thought you goody goodies were a little less callous than that."

"Well, this is Vegas," Xander said, "Besides I'm not gambling her life, I'm gambling yours."

The thing's head shifted sideways again and Xander clarified, "If you kill her, I'll kill you, period. Your body will beat hers to the ground, I swear it."

"With that," the thing asked, clearly confused, "I thought you were smarter than that."

"Exploding rounds," Xander explained, "You've got some power on you, I can sense that but you can die from physical trauma just like most lower levels. I don't think you'll respond to well if one of these hits you, do you?"

"We are at an impasse," the thing said unnecessarily, "I cannot be sure you will not shoot me if I release her, and you cannot be sure that you can kill me before I kill her."

Xander nodded, "So I offer a final option: My word, you release her and get gone and I give you a pass. But I also promise that the next time I see your ass I blow a hole in it."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Xander shrugged, "Simple, I'm one of the good guys."

The thing seemed to consider it and said, "I have another option."

"That being," Xander asked, now more alert than he had been before.

"I take her," the demon said, "and you DIE!"

Xander saw a blur of movement as the things spun and its left arm moved in a blur of movement in his direction.

Xander didn't have a clear shot anymore as the way the demon had spun placed Sara directly behind him. A shot from the ammo he was using would definitely hit her too so he concentrated on dodging the incoming knife that was headed like a missile right towards his head.

He dodged as quickly as he could to his right and his left hand snapped up and caught the blade as it passed by.

He realized his error however as Sara Sidle came flying at him having been tossed by the demon in his direction.

Xander cursed his luck as he realized her velocity was to great for him to allow her to hit anything without risking her getting hurt so he did what he always did and decided to take one for the team.

He opened up his arms and caught her flying body and spun using that to take up the energy of her impromptu flight.

Instincts screamed at him and without thought his left leg snapped back in a vicious back kick that caught the approaching attacker square in the chest.

He was rewarded with the sight of his attacker achieving his own temporary power of flight and being tossed across the kitchen into the far wall.

Xander dumped Sara to the floor as he hit his knees to steady his aim and brought his right hand up to fire off a shot as the demon made a dive for the shadows.

Xander's shot missed the center mass he had been aiming for and instead caught the demon in the left leg just as he vanished into the shadows; a scream the only thing left behind afterwards, other than the leg.

Xander went to check on the extremity that had been left behind, wanting to ensure that it wasn't a case where you cut something off and something starts to grow.

He was pleased to see that the leg had been blown off at the mid-thigh and was already starting to dissolve. He had to say he was quite pleased with how well his explosive rounds worked. He wouldn't tell anyone but this had been the first time he'd tried it in the field.

His early experiments with explosive rounds had shown him that finding an explosive that was compact yet powerful enough to seriously injure and damage demons wasn't the problem, the problem was not having the stuff blow up in the clip.

He'd tried various explosives, some were powerful enough but far too unstable, like nitro. Others were powerful but too stable to detonate upon impact, like RDX which required a detonator before it would blow.

Finally he settled on PETN it had an explosive velocity of over 8000 meters a second and had a medium level of sensitivity. He'd found that it would however detonate just fine upon impact with meat targets, that was when he made the addition of a small, almost unnoticeable piece of hair from a demon known as a Farigal. This particular species of demons had been used by magic users for centuries in magical explosives and presto, he had himself an extremely effective exploding round with a lot more power than one would think for the amounts he was able to use. That fact was made obvious by the evidence of the severed limb that was currently lying on the ground.

Satisfied that nothing was going to come of the severed limb he turned and went to check on Sara

She was disoriented and seemed to even be in a mild state of shock. He had a feeling that wasn't going to last however and he needed to get somewhere safe and make with some quick explanations.

As he knelt down to her he realized she was mumbling almost incoherently and her face was contorted in pain.

It didn't take a genius to realize what was wrong, having seen this hundreds of times in other Seers.

The adrenaline rush had triggered an overload of her powers and she was stuck in a kind of loop as her power back fed onto itself soaking up every emotion and sensation in the area.

As he watched he was again struck with how similar it looked to Buffy all those years ago when she lost control of her power to read minds and was bombarded with all the thoughts of the entire town of Sunnydale. It had nearly driven her insane.

Xander knew what needed to be done and he grabbed Sara by her shoulders and shook her somewhat forcefully as he started talking to her the same way he had with Cordy the last time this had happened to her.

"Sara," he said his voice soft but firm, "Sara listen to me, your visions are charged up because you are, you have to get yourself under control."

"Too, much, it's too much," the brunette said over and over. Xander shook her slightly and repeated his command.

Sara didn't seem to even hear him and so Xander put all the power he could into his voice and said, "Sara, open your eyes now!"

Her eyes snapped open but Xander was doubtful she was able to see him clearly and said, "Your abilities are just like any other sense, Sara," he said forcefully, "you can ignore it if you try hard enough."

"It's too hard," Sara's pained voice forced out but Xander shook his head, "It's not, you can do it you just need to learn how. Listen very carefully to what I'm telling you."

Sara tried to listen, her desperation fueling her strength, "Ok," she said simply, almost child like.

Xander nodded and said, "You have to imagine your power is just like the controls on a radio. You need to picture that radio and imagine yourself turning down the volume. Do you understand, Sara? You have to picture yourself turning down the volume and you have to see it clearly."

Sara nodded her head and tried forming the image, but she kept losing concentration as another powerful sense from the Lawson's assaulted her. It wasn't just the attack she was seeing anymore it was everything about their lives, compressed into short videos that assaulted her all at once.

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tight as she tried again…ignoring everything, even Xander's soothing voice as she visualized exactly as he had told her.

Finally the image took form in her mind, clear if a little shaky and she imagined just as he suggested turning down the volume.

It happened slowly but she started to notice it wasn't as intense as it had been. Heartened by this she concentrated harder and the image took firmer shape in her mind and she continued to dial down on the volume.

Eventually she reached zero and she sagged in relief as the power, for the first time in months wasn't a constant buzz in the back of her mind.

She opened her still tightly clinched eyes and looked up at Xander, relief clear in her voice and face as she said, "Thank you."

"No problem," Xander said with a slight grin.

Sara actually relaxed for a moment into the man, her relief at the sudden silence in her head causing her to forget for a moment everything else.

All too soon however Sara's sharp scientific mind snapped back into gear like a corvette with the accelerator peddle on the floor and she pulled away like she'd been electrocuted.

She jumped to her feet quickly and was reaching for her side arm even as Xander snapped into motion as well, even faster than her.

He was like a blur and suddenly she saw her own service pistol in his hand, pointed at the floor.

Her eyes locked with his and she said, "Now what?"

"Now," he said simply, as he pulled the clip from her pistol and ejected the round in the chamber before replacing the magazine and handing back the pistol, safety on, even as he pocketed the round, "it's time to tell you what's really going on."

*****

Willow was typing away on her computer, Grissom hovering but not too close as to make her uncomfortable. She smiled at that, after you've had a Master Vampire breathing down your neck, a simple scientist getting too close just didn't have the discomfort factor that it might have.

Finally, after completing all the parameters for the search she wanted to conduct she looked at Grissom and said, "You look like you have a lot of questions, Dr. Grissom."

He seemed startled by the bluntness of her question and took a moment to gather his thoughts before he said, "I do, and the problem is I'm not so sure you'd answer them truthfully."

Willow seemed to consider that for a moment before replying, "There's also the problem that you might not like the answers you get, and even worse very well might not believe them."

"I'm a scientist," Grissom said, as if that explained everything, "I believe what the evidence tells me."

"That's the problem Dr. Grissom," Willow said, "Science doesn't always hold the answers. Some times you have to know when to ignore the science and go in another direction."

"I can't do that," Grissom said, "It violates everything I believe."

Willow got a wicked look in her eye and said, "Come on, you're telling me you've never been faced with a situation where science didn't help you?"

For some reason Gil couldn't explain the question made him incredibly uncomfortable.

He was about to answer when Willow seemed to stiffen in her seat and stood abruptly. So abruptly in fact Grissom was nearly knocked over with the sudden movement.

Willow barely acknowledged him as she said, "I'll be right back."

She didn't even wait for an answer as she headed for the door, already opening her cell phone. Grissom was tempted to follow her when he saw Willow's laptop begin to spit out search hits on the screen.

Willow's departure forgotten in lieu of this new mystery Gil sat down at the lap top and, careful not to interfere with the search began to open the hits and read the information.

Within a few seconds his eyes widened as he realized something strange was definitely going on here; even more strange than he'd first thought.

*****

Willow hit the speed dial on her cell as she headed for where Dawn was. If Xander were here he'd be making a silly comment about her sensing a great disturbance in the Force, however since it was him that she was sensing the disturbance from, she wasn't much in the mood for jokes right now.

The phone rang once, twice, three times and he still hadn't answered.

She was just stepping into the room where Dawn was, preparing to tell her that they needed to go kill something when the phone was picked up.

"Xander, are you ok," she asked desperately.

She'd felt something dark and it was centered on him, whatever it was, was powerful.

"I'm fine Wills, but we've got a problem," Xander started to explain but Willow cut him off; "I know I felt it, what was it?"

"I don't know," he said, clearly frustrated, "I've never seen anything like it before, but that's not the biggest problem."

"What happened," the red head asked, shushing Dawn and Ellie as she did.

"Sara saw me, my eyes were, and well…you know."

Willow did know. It was another peculiarity of Xander's situation that when he was channeling the Animal part of the Spirit that was placed in him that his eyes would glow with an almost jade appearance. Actually she thought it was kind of pretty, but Xander just glared at her anytime she pointed that out.

*****

Xander sat on the other side of the phone just knowing that Willow was thinking about how pretty his eyes were when they glowed. 'Pretty? Can you believe it?'

He let it go as Willow asked, "How is she?"

Xander looked over at Sara who was examining the rapidly dissolving leg in morbid fascination and said, "Not…great."

He turned from Sara and said quietly into the phone, "Look, we need to have a sit down with her and Grissom; she says he knows all about her abilities and she won't go anywhere unless she knows he's going to be there when she gets to wherever. I think we have a trust problem."

"Well we have been lying to them," Willow observed off handedly.

"Necessary evil, Wills, and you know it," he said irritably.

"I know, I know," Willow said, "but still."

"Yeah, yeah," Xander said, scratching the skin under his patch. He had no idea why both eyes glowed it wasn't like there was anything in the left socket, and it always made the skin around it itch like hell for hours afterwards.

"Look," he said, getting back on track, "I'm heading to the hotel, I figure nice public place she'll be fine and you can meet us in the lobby and then we'll do what we need to. How's that?"

"Sounds good," Willow said.

"Oh yeah," Xander said, "one more thing. Me and Wes figured something out."

He explained about the obscuring spell and what it entailed. Willow let out an affronted snort, "Now that's just mean. They're cheating you know."

"Wills, they're the bad guys," he said as if speaking to a particularly obtuse child, something he knew he would pay for later, "That's what they do."

"Hey," she said, and Xander just smiled.

"I'll see you at the Wynn," he said, pretending he'd done nothing wrong.

Willow just grumbled and said, "Yeah, sure," and hung up.

Xander looked at Sara and said, "Come on, we're going to meet Grissom and then we're going to have a talk."

Sara turned away from the puddle that had been a leg just a few minutes ago and asked, "Where are we going?"

"The Wynn," Xander said simply.

Her eyebrows shot up and he said, "Our Company spares no expense."

"What company is that," she asked.

Xander shook his head, "Uh uh, that's for when we get there."

With that he waved his arm in an 'After you' motion and she went giving him a distrustful glare as she went.

'Oh yes,' he thought sarcastically, 'My life's getting less complicated all the time.'

*****

Willow hung up her phone and explained to Dawn what Xander had said. She too thought it was cheating to which Ellie agreed wholeheartedly. Dawn said that it would take some time for the effect to clear but when it did she'd be able to understand better what this ritual was about.

As she was leaving Willow said, "Ellie, I think maybe you should come with me; just in case they need convincing."

Ellie nodded and headed out with Willow to collect Gil Grissom and head for their hotel.

*****

Brass, Catherine and Warrick all walked into the American Worker store, they were hot, tired and frustrated.

"How many stores does this make," Warrick asked as he, Jim, and Catherine headed into the store to again ask about boot purchases made in the last couple months.

"Number six, I think," Jim said as they tried to find someone in charge.

Warrick again spared the detective a glance to make sure that he was doing ok. Having his daughter just show up out of the blue like she had, and working with people he already didn't trust had to be eating at him.

He'd tried talking to Brass, since they'd come a long way from their days of animosity.

***FLASHBACK***

"Jim, you doin' ok," Warrick asked, concern in his voice.

"Why wouldn't I be doin' ok," Jim responded, no heat in the response but still a little clipped.

"Come on man," Warrick started but Brass held up his hands, "Warrick, I appreciate it, I really do," he started as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration, "But she's back, I never thought she'd come back but she has. I just…" he let out a frustrated sigh, "Just let me enjoy that for a little while before the other shoe drops, ok?"

Warrick nodded, understanding that the man knew something was up, but he just wanted to live in denial for a little while.

***END FLASHBACK***

Warrick put it out of his mind as Catherine was finally able to flag someone down that looked like they might be able to help them.

"Can I help you folks," the man asked in a overly friendly tone.

"I'm Jim Brass, Las Vegas Police," Jim said, flashing his badge, "This is Warrick Brown and Catherine Willows, Las Vegas Crime Lab, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Is this about that hedge," the man began nervously, "Because my lawyer assured me that since it was on my property I had every right to…"

Jim waved the man off, not wanting to know, "No, no, sir this is about something else."

Catherine took over hoping the man might respond better to her than Brass's usual demeanor, "Sir, we're investigating a crime that took place yesterday and our investigation has led us to a special style of boot that the person we're looking for might have been wearing."

The man's demeanor totally shifted, now that they were talking about something he understood, "Really what style of boot?"

Catherine pulled out her notes and checked them saying, "Magnum Hi-Tec's specifically in a size eleven, Mr.?"

"Oh, sorry," he said, sheepishly, "Where are my manners, Arnold Johnson, I'm the manager here, well temporarily, until they promote me officially."

"So you think you can help us out, Arnold?" Catherine asked, flashing the man a smile.

"Hi-Tec, you said," Arnold asked for clarification and Catherine nodded.

"Oh, Hi-Tec's very nice boot," he said, backing up and running into a small display, "They're quite expensive but incredibly comfortable and incredibly light. SWAT, DEA, BATF, all of them use the Hi-Tec's in one form or another."

Warrick hid a smile behind his hand as he glanced at Jim who did the same. Catherine just had this effect on men and she knew how to exploit it without being vulgar about it. It was actually kind of fun to watch.

"Ok well," Arnold said, recovering from his trip, and signaling someone over. A young woman mid-twenties came over.

"This is Denise," Arnold said, "She's my Hi-Tec specialist, and she handles most of my sales in that department if she's here," he explained to the investigators before turning to the young woman, Denise, on her name tag.

"Denise, these people want to ask about a boot purchase that might have been made here," he said.

"Ok," the woman said, and turned her attention to Catherine.

Catherine showed her the boot print, and told her what boot they suspected it came from and the size. The effect it had on the woman was instantaneous and she went from helpful to guarded and possibly even a little scared in record time.

Catherine easily caught it and asked, "Do you remember someone buying these boots?"

Denise just nodded, obviously shaken.

Catherine looked at Arnold and said, "If you don't mind Arnold, we'd like to take Denise with us, for an interview, if that's ok?"

Arnold said, "Sure, sure, absolutely."

Catherine looked at Denise and asked, "Are you ok with coming down to talk to us?"

Denise just nodded again; still unable to speak because of the obvious fear she was feeling.

Jim looked at Arnold and said, "I'll need your receipts for the purchase we might be able to find the person we're looking for with a credit card purchase."

"Don't bother," Denise said, finally speaking, "He paid with cash."

Jim looked at her and asked, "Then how do you know we're talking about the same person?"

Denise just looked at him and the look told Jim all he needed to know but she said, "Because I'll never forget that man as long as I live."

Warrick and Catherine shared a look as Catherine escorted the woman out.

Jim looked at Warrick and asked, "What the hell is going on here?"

Warrick just shrugged and said, "I don't know, I just don't know."

*****

Nick was looking at a piece of evidence through the microscope and trying desperately to ignore the pacing that Greg was doing as he read the report he'd gotten from the UNLV chemistry lab.

He hadn't even gotten a chance yet to look at the report because Greg had yet to hand it over, because he was apparently obsessed with trying to figure something out.

Nick let out an exasperated breath and snapped his head up and said, "Greg!"

"What," Greg asked, freezing in place at the tone in Nick's voice.

"You've been staring at that report for half an hour man, how 'bout you share?"

Greg nodded and moved quickly to the table and laid the report down so Nick could see.

"Ok, well the guys over there said the initial analysis was correct, Mercuric Acid, Sulfur, Carbon, Nickel, Iron, probably from the blood," he said eagerly.

"Ok," Nick said, "So Hodges got it right, just means he'll be as aggravating as usual when he hears, so what?"

"So," Greg said, "Our equipment's great but over there they've got some stuff that makes us look like we've got a high school chemistry set. Real state of the art stuff, and in amongst everything else they found an unknown."

"What do you mean an 'unknown'", Nick asked.

"I mean," Greg said, putting the report down in front of Nick, "they found a substance that their equipment couldn't identify. Our stuff didn't even detect it, but theirs did and it couldn't identify it."

"That doesn't make sense," Nick said, now as confused as Greg, "GCMS should be able to break down any compound into its molecular components and identify it."

"I know," Greg said, "and that's what they did."

Nick shook his head, "They're must be something wrong with their equipment."

"They already checked that," Greg said, shaking his head, "They recalibrated the machine, twice, and came up with the same thing every time."

"That doesn't make sense," Nick said again.

"Wait," Greg said, "it gets better. One of the lab guys said this stuff sounded familiar. Turns out his girl-friend is a mythology major and really into 'alternate history'."

"Alternate history," Nick asked.

"Yeah, you know history that includes things like dragons and stuff," Greg clarified.

"Oh," Nick said, "so what's that got to do with this?"

"I'm getting to that," Greg said, frustrated, none of his coworkers had any patience.

"Anyway, apparently she's always bugging him with stuff she finds and he remembered something like this and called her to get her to tell him about it," Greg explained.

"And," Nick said, trying to maintain his patience with Greg, but finding it hard in this case.

"And," Greg said, "according to her, this stuff is supposedly used to neutralize a witch's powers."

"A what," Nick asked.

Greg grabbed the report and flipped a couple of pages and then read, "Mercuric acid, Carbon, Nickel, fungus of a fungal, and blood from the brave."

"Fungus of a fungal, blood of the brave? What is this," Nick asked grabbing the report.

"According to my guy," Greg said.

Nick looked at him, "Your guy?"

"Yeah," Greg said, "he's my friend, so he's my guy."

"Whatever," Nick said, "what's it mean?"

"Fungus of a fungal, according to his girl-friend, and one of her mythology professors who's also studied this stuff mythology includes a lot of demons and such and fungus of a fungal refers to the fungus from, oddly enough a fungal demon, and blood of the brave means a person who is using this stuff to battle witches. According to myth only the bravest of men could do such a thing."

"This is ridiculous," Nick said, "we're dealing with real life here."

"Yeah, but maybe our killer isn't," Greg said, "and if he really is insane enough to think he's fighting witches…"

"This isn't over," Nick finished, a shiver running through him as he considered the implications.

*****

Detective Sophia Curtis had been involved in law enforcement for a very long time. Her mother had been a cop and had actually wanted Sophia to follow in her footsteps; a rarity for cops.

Her mom hadn't been so thrilled when Sophia became a crime scene analyst but she didn't complain, at least not exactly.

However when Sophia left CSI and went back to being a detective her mom had been very, very happy.

As a cop and as a CSI she had seen, and heard, and found some really amazing things about people. Some of the things she'd found would almost be enough for her to quit the human race completely, but on the other hand there were things that made her swell with pride at being a member.

None of that however was helping her now with her research for Gil Grissom.

She hadn't though it would be that big a deal, not really. A little known fact was that she was pretty handy with a keyboard and had been known to bend a few rules and protocols to get what she wanted.

The thing was that whoever had designed the security around Xander Harris, and Willow Rosenberg was a lot better than she was. Everything she tried came back with nothing. In fact it was so bad that she was beginning to get worried about getting caught.

So she stopped with the obvious and instead went a different route and soon found herself surfing around the data bases of the University of California.

Fortunately, because UC campuses were all interconnected, so was their information and even though the Sunnydale campus had been destroyed with the rest of the town, the school information was still available.

Smiling triumphantly to herself she began looking at records that no one had bothered to cover up.

After a few seconds she was nearly gaping at the course load of one Willow Rosenberg. This woman had to be a genius, no doubt about it. There was no way someone could take more than twenty credit hours a semester and maintain these kinds of grades unless they were a genius or they were a cheat.

Considering it highly unlikely that a person could cheat that much and not get caught Sophia was left with one obvious conclusion, that Willow Rosenberg had an intellect of unquestioned rarity.

Checking further she found that there were notes in Rosenberg's academic file from her academic advisor of interest by several other campuses and university's all making contact with UC Sunnydale in hopes of getting Willow to transfer.

It wasn't unheard of for colleges and university's to go recruiting, even on other campuses, but that was usually reserved for jocks, not academics.

Still, there was interest in this girl from as far as Oxford in England, and yet she'd turned them all down, why?

Why would a person with this level of intelligence and a virtual plethora of higher education facilities willing to let her write her own ticket stay at what was really little more than a local community college, even if it was part of the UC system.

More questions than answers were what she was getting, although this did answer Grissom's question, of how this young woman could already be looking to complete her Doctorate.

Still there were questions here that needed to be answered. Like how this woman had gotten involved with Homeland Security.

She'd just found a small buried file in one of the federal databases she was sifting through when her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door that startled her. She looked up as a uniform poked his head in her door.

"Yes," she asked, even as she shutdown the incriminating evidence of her search and clicked a couple icons she had which would erase what she'd done from her computer. In a few minutes no one, not even a computer forensic expert would be able to tell what she'd been doing.

"Sorry detective," the uniform said, "We go a 419, you're the detective on…"

"Oh, yeah," Sophia said, shifting into her detective mode. She stood and grabbed her holster and badge from where they were laying on her desk and clipped them to her belt as she said, "Let's go."

*****

Catherine, Warrick, and Brass had brought Denise to the station and had her in one of the offices, rather than an interrogation room. Catherine had suggested that having her in the interrogation room would make her even more scared than she already obviously was.

Catherine poured the nervous girl some water and then said, "Can you tell us about the guy that bought the boots?"

Denise nodded, sipping the water, "I really don't want to remember him but he keeps sticking in my mind."

"Please, try Denise, it's important," Catherine said gently.

Denise nodded and started talking, "It was a normal day, about a week or so ago. I was working the boot aisle and this guy came in and said he was looking for a pair of good boots."

"Can you describe him," Warrick asked, also gently, trying not to make the woman feel like the three of them were ganging up on her.

"He was a several inches taller than me, and I'm five foot six, maybe five ten, or Eleven. Dark hair, and he was big, real big."

Catherine looked at the young woman, "Heavy you mean?"

Denise shook her head, "No I mean thick. He kind of looked like a body builder, even under the clothes I could tell he was really, really muscular."

"Can you remember anything else," Brass asked, eager to get anything they could about a possible suspect.

"Well he spoke real condescending like, kind arrogant and he had an English accent," she said, the description flowing from her lips now that she had actually tried to remember it. Suddenly she shivered and said, "But it was his eyes that I remember most."

"Why's that," Catherine asked.

Denise looked at her and Catherine could see the fear in her eyes as she said, "I like looking at people's eyes and so I notice them. You can tell a lot. Some people have sad eyes, some happy. Other people's eyes laugh,"

She looked at Brass and said, "Like yours. Your eyes tell me you've seen a lot in your life but you don't let it get you down. You've also got a lot of frown lines around your eyes but they're not so deep right now, like you got some good news or something."

Brass looked at her, slightly shocked, "That's pretty good."

Denise shrugged, "It's a gift, what can I say. Not that it will get me anything."

Brass might have debated that with her if he had time, instead he simply said, "What about this guys eyes?"

"His eyes were dead," she said simply, "It was like looking at a doll."

Catherine shared a look with Brass and Warrick who both looked a little disturbed. Finally Catherine said, "So you showed him the boots?"

Denise nodded, "Yeah, I showed him a few pair and he settled on the Hi-Tec's and then he paid for them and left."

"You said he paid with cash though, right?" Brass asked, disappointed that the guy hadn't been dumb enough to use a credit card.

"Yeah, he pulled out his wallet and…" she stopped as she remembered something else, "I remember his driver's license fell out and onto my side of the counter I remember picking it up and looking at it."

Brass had to stop himself from reaching over and grabbing the girl's shoulders and instead said, "Did you look at it?"

"Yeah," Denise said, "I remember now, the name on it said, 'Stephen James K'."

Brass was writing furiously, "Do you remember what state it was?"

Denise shook her head, "No, sorry. Like I said I didn't even want to remember anything about him, he scared the hell out of me and I don't even know why. I can tell you one thing though."

"What's that," Warrick asked.

"I wouldn't doubt he's going to do something bad."

"What makes you say that," Brass asked.

"Because some people are just evil, and I can tell, he was one of them," the girl answered simply.

*****

Xander and Sara had arrived at the Wynn Resort and Casino fairly quickly and Xander went to the front desk.

"Hey Marcus," he said, acknowledging the man behind the desk that had checked him in.

Marcus looked up and smiled at the guest that had treated him much more respectfully than most people that ended up in their most expensive suites. Mr. Harris actually treated him like a human being.

"Mr. Harris," he said respectfully but with a genuine smile.

Xander looked at the man exasperatingly and said, "Marcus, I thought I told you to call me Xander."

Marcus shook his head and said, "Sorry, Mr. Harris, protocol."

Xander shook his head and Marcus let out a low chuckle. Xander finally said, "You have any messages for me?"

"Yes sir," Marcus said as he pulled some message slips from somewhere, "Mr. Giles called several times and finally told me to tell you that, and I am quoting here, 'If you're going to have the bloody phone then turn the bloody thing on.'"

Xander laughed at the sheepish look on the man's face. In a way he felt bad for him. It was probably hard dealing with people like him and Willow, and Giles who were so laid back and yet could make a single phone call to the owner of the Casino and have suites ordered for them on the spot.

"Thanks Marcus, I'll be sure to let Mr. Giles know you delivered his message flawlessly," Xander laughed.

Marcus just nodded politely and Xander said as he turned to leave, "Thanks Marcus, see you later."

"Good day Mr. Harris," was the friendly reply.

Sara had watched the entire exchange with a mix of confusion and a little amusement. It was obvious by the way Xander moved around the lobby and dealt with the staff that he was at ease being a guest in a multi-million dollar hotel. At the same time he treated the man behind the counter like a friend, not a servant. She just couldn't figure this guy out. What made it even more confusing was the way he'd helped her earlier.

It was obvious from the way he'd done so that he was no stranger to someone with her power, but that begged the question: How many people like her were there that he could have contact with them?

He'd promised to give her answers as soon as Gil arrived; now she was just hoping he'd arrive soon because the suspense was killing her.

Xander, seemingly oblivious to her state of mind got closer to her and said, "You hungry?"

Sara just looked at him like he was insane.

*****

It took all of Grissom's considerable self control not to sprint into the lobby of the Wynn while looking for Sara.

Willow and Ellie followed him at a much more calm and relaxed pace and bearing. Willow had explained to Grissom that if Xander said they'd be there, then they'd be there. Grissom wasn't so sure he believed that because to be frank these people had been obviously lying to them in some form or another from the beginning.

He entered the lobby and snapped his head around in every direction trying to catch a glimpse of Sara until he finally calmed down enough and started approaching this from a more logical stand point.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and found that, yes, he could feel Sara somewhere close by and yes she seemed to be all right.

He took another calming breath and opened his eyes to find Willow practically right in front of him with a smile on her lips and a look in her eye that seemed to say 'Told you so.'

It took him a few moments to realize that she could only have that look if she knew exactly what he'd been doing and somehow was doing the same thing.

He wanted to ask her questions but then he caught a glimpse of the dark hair and the denim jacket that Sara wore and he was moving in that direction forgetting everything else.

The two lovers hit nearly in the middle of the lobby and Grissom wrapped his arms around her for once forgetting completely that people might see him. Of course the chances that someone in this lobby would happen to be a resident of Vegas and not on vacation was very slim, still, the fact he didn't think about it at all said a lot.

Finally, after nearly hugging the stuffing out of her Gil said, "Are you ok? When Willow said something had happened I thought."

"Shh," Sara said, putting her finger to his lips, amazed at the near babble that was coming from them, "I'm fine. I," she stopped and shook her head, "I'm not really sure exactly what happened but I'm ok. Xander saved my life."

Gil looked to Xander who just nodded, and said, "I wasn't going to let her get hurt, Grissom."

Grissom nodded at the statement then turned to Willow who had moved up next to Xander, and said, "You promised me an explanation."

"You promised me the same thing," Sara said, looking directly at Xander.

The two friends looked at each other and then at Ellie. Finally Xander said, "Let's take this somewhere more private," he indicated the elevators and Grissom and Sara moved with them.

The ride up the elevator was quiet, and quite quick. Apparently the elevators would only ride to the suites on the top floors when you had the security card in the slot.

The five people stepped out onto the floor and Xander moved towards the door of one of the suites and insert and removed his card expertly, opening the door for the others.

Grissom for his part looked over the entry way with a critical eye. He'd never been in one of these rooms before, having never been called here for a crime scene and seeing it as pointless to book a room for the kind of prices they were asking when he had a perfectly good home he could go to.

Still it was hard not to appreciate the lavishness of it. The designers had spared no expense when it came to impressing people.

Gil noticed rooms to the left and right of the door, one apparently to a bathroom and the other holding what looked like a massage table.

As he stepped further into the suite he noticed a bar to the right, what looked to be a dining room table to the left and two very large couches in the middle of the room with what looked to be at least a 48" plasma TV.

Willow moved past him and Sara as she moved to the bar and pulled out a soda for herself and another for Xander and Ellie. She looked to Gil and Sara, the question clear on her face and they both declined.

Willow looked at Xander who nodded slightly and Willow grabbed a bottle of bourbon and moved over to one of the couches and sat down. Ellie joined her a moment later and then Xander sat on the armrest holding a phone book and oddly enough a tire iron.

Gil and Sara took that as their cue and sat down as well.

The two small groups stared at one another until finally Grissom said, "Explanation?"

Xander nodded, "Right, however I figure that first things first." He held the tire iron out to Grissom who took it slowly.

"Where did you get this," Grissom asked, wondering it if it was a piece of evidence.

"From the rental," Xander said, "Don't worry I'll replace it," he said misunderstanding Grissom's interest.

"What do you want me to do with it," the CSI supervisor asked, beginning to reach the end of his patience.

"Just verify that it's real," Xander said simply. When Grissom looked at the iron again he held it in his hands, testing its weight. He even flexed it, or rather tried to in his hands and then said, "Ok, it's real, now what?"

Xander took the tire iron back and then said, "Ellie," as he tossed the phone book to her.

The blonde smiled brightly, took the phone book in her hands and then, without looking like she'd expended any effort at all, promptly tore the book in two as easily as if she were tearing tissue paper.

Before Grissom even had a chance to say anything Xander tossed the tire iron at the blonde who caught it deftly in one hand, spun it like it were a weapon and then twisted it into a knot with just as much ease.

She offered the twisted metal to Grissom who took it, and then had to switch it back and forth in his hands a few times because of the heat that had been generated by the bending. He tried to flex the metal but it wouldn't so much as budge.

He handed the iron to Sara who looked at it fascinated and then handed it back to Grissom who in turn handed it to Xander.

"I don't understand," Grissom finally said, having no answer for what he'd just seen. Sure he'd seen strong men do things very similar but never as easily as Ellie had just done and certainly not done by anyone so thin.

Xander smiled grimly and said, "Dr. Grissom what would you say if I told you that the world is a lot more complex than you know."

"I'd say I'd need to know exactly what you're saying," Grissom answered back.

Xander smiled and said, "Ok, I'm going to tell you, but I ask that you keep in mind what you've just seen Ellie do and that you keep an open mind."

"I'm a scientist, Xander," Grissom said, "It's my job to keep an open mind."

Xander just snorted a little and said, "Ok, here goes….The world is older than you know…"

*****

Ten minutes later Xander had completed his explanation. Demons, vampires, werewolves, and girls called Slayers, created before recorded history to fight them.

Grissom didn't know what to believe. It was obvious that these people believed this but what he didn't understand was why the U.S. Government was employing obviously deluded people. Unless, his mind offered, they weren't deluded at all.

Grissom looked at Sara who was staring wide eyed at the whole thing and then said, "Like I told you, Xander, I'm a scientist. Everything you've told me flies in the face of everything science tells me about the world. I need evidence."

Xander nodded, "Of course you do, that's why I opened this with Ellie's little demonstration. You'd agree that no normal person could do what she did?"

Grissom nodded, grudgingly and said, "But that doesn't prove anything about what you said," he clarified.

"No," Xander agreed, "But it does lend some credibility to the claim that there are women out there with incredible strength that couldn't be normally explained by their apparent physical appearance, right?"

Grissom was forced to concede that fact.

"Good," Xander said, "then the rest is easy. But I think the best way to alleviate at least some of your fears would be to prove to you that magic is real, how about that?"

"Can you," Gil asked challengingly.

Xander didn't answer and instead turned to look at Willow and said, "Wills?"

Willow smiled and turned back to Grissom and Sara and then looked down at the bottle of bourbon. Instantly he lifted up into the air seemingly on its own and floated to Gil and Sara.

The two criminalists just stared open mouthed at the bottle and Grissom reached out and grabbed it, instantly looking for some form of wire or string and finding none. When he looked up Willow held her hand out and Grissom held the bottle out to her and it flew quickly across the room into her hands.

Willow grabbed the bottle and threw it up into the air and said, "Fractum!"

Gil could hear the power in the words and watched as the bottle practically exploded in the air. He didn't even have a chance to understand what had happened, or to cover Sara or himself before he heard Willow's voice again, "Congelo!"

it. It took him a few more moments to realize that he was neither wet from the bourbon nor was he being hit by nor hearing the sound of falling glass.

He looked up and saw that the exploding bottle and the bourbon were both frozen in mid air above their heads. He stood slowly, looking at what he was seeing, Sara right next to him. He raised his had to the floating puddle and started to reach out to it but then thought better of it.

Xander's voice cut through his thoughts, "Go ahead, it's not going to hurt you."

Grissom did as he was told and reached a finger out to the bourbon, finding it still in liquid form he brought his finger back and tasted the liquor, amazement clear on his face.

He looked at Sara who was busy looking not at the scientific impossibility right in front of them, but the woman apparently responsible.

Willow was sitting there, calmly, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. In reality for her this was nothing more than the illusionist's equivalent of pulling a quarter out of someone's ear. She didn't like showing off like this, but they didn't have time to screw around and she realized looking at the two people they were trying to convince, it was obviously working, at least to a degree.

Finally satisfied that they were satisfied Willow gave one more command, "Redintegro!"

As before the word wasn't shouted, but the power in the word was clear and before Grissom and Sara's eyes the bottle reformed into a whole bottle, complete with bourbon inside.

The bottle then slowly lowered itself to the table and two glasses appeared next to it.

Grissom sits down on the couch heavily, Sara right next to him. He'd not much of a drinker, and knows that Sara still has her discomforts with alcohol but he opens the bottle, carefully and pours both of them a small amount of the alcohol before replacing the cap.

He hands Sara her glass and takes a sip of his alcohol and then looks at Xander and says, "How can we not have known about this?"

"Because the world at large had had the truth hidden from them, and it has to remain that way," Xander explained.

"Why," Sara asked, believing always that knowledge was better than ignorance, "I mean shouldn't people know what's out there so they can protect themselves?"

"That's why were here," Xander said, "Besides if the world at large found out about this it would be catastrophic."

"I don't understand," Sara said.

"It's simple," Willow said, "Already, in this country alone we have crazy religious people who sometimes use guns when people don't do what they say according to their religion. Can you imagine what would happen if these psycho bible thumpers with guns actually found out that witches are actually real?"

"It'd be chaos," Gil said, understanding.

"It would be Salem all over again to the nth degree," Xander said.

"There would be no way the government could protect everyone without declaring martial law, and meanwhile people would be freaking out all over the place. Even people with no connection to the supernatural would be targeted. Guy gets in a fight with his neighbor, then his kid or his dog gets sick, it must mean the neighbor has put a spell on them." Xander explained.

"Ok," Grissom nodded, "I can understand why it's kept quiet, but obviously the government knows, right?"

Xander nodded, "That's why we were hired by Homeland, they're trying to get their anti-demonic forces congealed into a more efficient working force and they wanted our help."

Grissom nodded, understanding now why these two were hired.

He turned to Ellie and asked, "How did you get into this?"

Ellie considered her answer before looking at Xander and Willow and finally said, "I just got lucky, I guess."

Gil wondered at the answer before remembering what her life had been like before and decided he couldn't exactly disagree. She looked a hell of a lot better than he'd heard she looked in L.A.

"Ok," Grissom nodded, "so why are you telling us this, now?"

He was sure he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from them.

"Well, actually two reasons," Xander said, "One this case you're working on is something that falls in our jurisdiction."

"It is," Grissom asked, "How?"

"They were killed for some kind of real magical ritual. We're not sure what we're still looking into it but trust me, it's one of ours."

Grissom nodded and then asked, "You said two reasons, what's the other?"

Xander looked at Sara and then back at Grissom and said, "Because Sara's power is supernatural in origin," he looked at her, "All those dreams I imagine you've had, the ones you probably thought were fake, they were us. You've been dreaming about us."

Sara looked shocked even though she'd suspected that was the truth all along. "But why," She asked, confused.

Xander shrugged, "Who knows, you're what's called a Seer. You have the power to see things in the past, present and future that no one else can. Call it god, or fate, or the Powers That Be, or someone's sick idea of a joke, but you have this power and you always will."

Sara shook her head, "All of it was real, I can't believe it."

She looked at Xander and Willow both, "You've done some amazing things."

Xander shrugged, "It's what we do."

"But why," Grissom asked, trying to understand, "You had to of gotten started in this young, why?"

"Our friend, Jesse?"

Grissom nodded, remembering what they'd said. Xander's face darkened and said, "What we didn't tell you is that he was turned into a vampire, I was the one that had to put him down."

Grissom's face fell at that, not able to imagine what that must have been like for a kid at the age Xander had been to not only find out that the things of nightmares were real, but to have to kill his best friend.

Finally Grissom said, "So now what. This changes a lot but one thing it doesn't change is that we need to solve this case."

Xander nodded, "I agree, but first Willow has something for you Sara."

Sara looked shocked and Willow stood and was suddenly holding a charm on a chain. She put it around Sara's neck before she could protect and said, "This is a protection charm. It will keep demons like that one earlier from being able to track your power, in fact no one will be able to sense your power but me, since I'm the one that created the charm, and Grissom, because of who he is to you."

"You were attacked by a demon," Gil asked, concern clear in his voice.

"Don't worry, Grissom," Xander said, "I took care of it."

Grissom wanted to say more but he didn't get the chance as his phone rang, "Grissom."

His eyes hardened and the rest of the people in the room got a sinking feeling. A feeling that was confirmed as Grissom hung up his phone and seemed ready to hurtle it across the room, the anger clear on his face.

Sara, unused to this amount of emotion from Grissom asked, "What is it?"

Grissom took a calming breath; his nerves and his self-control shot after the last few days and specifically the last hour and said, "That was Curtis. She just responded to a 419 out in Summerland; father, mother, and their three daughters, triplets age twelve. We've got another one."


	8. Chapter 8

8. Confrontations

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN1: Things are going to start happening quicker so as I like to say, buckle up.

AN2: Believe me when I tell you that I was as shocked by the ending of this capter as you were. I really didn't see this happening but as the story took form this seemed inevitable.

Hope you enjoy.

They had traveled in virtual silence, none of them having the desire, or the energy to say anything. Knowing what they would find when they got to their destination has effectively robbed them of any energy at all. Ellie had agreed to take Willow and Xander's rental back to the lab and hook up with Dawn, they had a lot of work to do and now it would be even more imperative that they finish the translation and give them some kind of a lead.

As they pulled up to the house in Summerland Grissom was struck, as he had last time, at the peacefulness of the neighborhood. No one would ever know about the horror that had taken place in this house from looking at the outside. Considering what he now knew about the real world Grissom wasn't so sure he was eager to know what had happened either.

As they pulled up Grissom saw the rest of his team waiting for him, and he saw that his and Sara's field kits were there waiting for them, just as he'd asked. The SUV pulled to a halt and the four people climbed out of them, and they approached the rest of the night shift team. Although being that it was mid afternoon and they'd all had little to no sleep it wasn't night shift anymore.

Grissom see the anger, and frustration that he felt mirrored in the faces of his people; anger that someone had done this yet again, anger with themselves that they hadn't solved this case yet, and spared another family this horror. The frustration came from knowing that the people, or whatever that had done this were going to keep doing it until they were stopped, and right now, they had nothing.

"Catherine," he said as he got up close to her and the others.

Catherine nodded her head, her mouth in a tight, grim line. She looked over Gil's shoulder at Willow and Xander and then sent a questioning look to Gil who simply shook his head.

Xander and Willow watched the by play and were simply amazed at the entire conversation they'd just seen take place with a few looks and shifting of the head. They wondered if that was what other people saw when they did the same thing.

Grissom looked over to see if he could locate Brass anywhere and he did, although given the obviously heated discussion he was having with Curtis at the moment he doubted Brass was going to be able to spare him any time. He looked like he had his hands full trying to calm an obviously livid Curtis down.

Grissom grabbed his kit and as Sara did the same said, "Ok, we've got work to do, let's get this done, and get back to the lab as soon as we can. I want speed, but not haste, people. We're going to have a mountain of evidence but hopefully a lot of it will repeat the first crime scene so analysis won't take as long."

He looked over his team and saw the nods and agreements and said, "Sara, Xander, Willow, you're with me and the three girls."

"Grissom are you sure that's a good idea," Catherine asked, "The last thing we want is someone to contaminate the crime scene."

She ignored the offended looks both people gave her and concentrated on Grissom instead.

"I'm fairly certain that they know not to touch anything, Catherine," Grissom said, "Besides I want them to see the markings first hand, maybe get a sense for the killer."

"Hasn't helped so far," Nick said under his breath, his own frustration finally boiling over.

Xander looked at him and said, "You want to say something to me?"

Nick seemed shocked that Xander had heard him. He looked at him, anger clear on his face as he stepped towards Xander even as Warrick rested a restraining hand on his shoulder and said, "Yeah, I want to know when you're going to show all you great skill and knowledge and help us catch this guy."

Xander didn't even pretend to be intimidated as he stepped right into Nick's personal space Willow doing her own part to restrain him even as Xander said, "Hey, in case you forgot we just started working on this yesterday. none of us, have had time to do anything but try and catch up, in case you forgot. So shove your bullshit somewhere else, because I don't need it."

Nick looked like he wanted to push it but Grissom stepped between them both, "Hey, what are you guys doing? We're all on the same side here. The guy we're looking for is out there and he's going to do this again unless we catch him, so you two stow the testosterone or consider yourselves relieved I don't care who you work for."

He said the last part looking pointedly at Xander who stared right into his eyes but then backed down and nodded.

Grissom then looked at Nick, who looked like he wanted to push the issue, but he finally buckled under Grissom's intense gaze and his shoulders slumped and he said, "I'm sorry, man, I was out of line."

Xander nodded at the man, and tried to smile but failed and then turned to Willow who rested her arm on his shoulder.

Grissom then said, "Now, if that's over with we've got a crime scene to process let's get to it," he looked over his team and said, "Warrick, Nick, you take the parents," both men nodded, "Greg, walk the perimeter of the house, see if maybe this time we get lucky and they made a mistake," the younger man nodded, although he wanted to prove himself, he was grateful that Grissom had realized that he couldn't go into another scene like this, not so soon.

Grissom looked at Catherine and said, "I want to know how these people got into this house. We didn't find anything last time I want to know this time. Find it for me, Catherine."

She nodded, accepting the challenge for what it was.

Satisfied that everyone knew their assignments they started moving into the house. Grissom sidetracked over to Brass who had finished talking to Curtis who was now storming to her car, clearly pissed.

"What's with her," Grissom asked in lieu of a greeting.

Brass turned to watch the female detective get into her car and roar out of the neighborhood. He waited till he was sure she was gone before answering Grissom, "She was first on the scene, she wanted permission to start processing the scene, and I wouldn't give it to her. She's pissed, Gil, we all are. We need to catch these animals and we need to do it now."

"I know about the pressure, Brass," Grissom said. He was shocked when Brass turned an angry look on him and said, "This has nothing to do with the pressure. Screw the guys up stairs and screw the mayor and screw anyone else that wants to put us under a microscope while we try and do our job, this mother…" he trailed off as he realized his voice was rising and people were starting to stare. He took a deep breath and said, "This bastard, these people. Whatever it is, they need to be stopped, not because the brass say so but because I say so. We can't let this happen again."

"I understand Jim, I do. We're doing everything we can. These people are good and it's going to take time."

"Yeah," Brass said, "well it's time another family out there doesn't have."

Grissom didn't respond to that and instead asked, "What's the name of the family?"

"Devlin," Brass said, looking at his notes, "Bobbi, Andy and Terri, Tammy, and Teressa."

Brass shook his head, "Why do parents always give triplets and twins names that start with the same initial?

Grissom didn't have an answer and instead said, "I need to get to work, I'll see you back at the lab?"

"Yeah," Brass said, "I've got something to run down anyway."

With that Brass headed away from the house and the stench of death and went to try and start asking questions that mattered. The entire time he was going he was asking himself if the time he'd wasted looking into Xander Harris' past would have made any difference.

*****

As the team stepped into the house they split up to do their assigned tasks. Catherine paused and looked at Grissom with a look on her face he wasn't quite able to decipher, and then she was gone.

He turned and moved towards the basement putting everything out of his mind but what was ahead of him.

As he descended the stairs he was assaulted by the familiar smell of blood, and death. He looked over at the coroner, and nodded his head. The man acknowledged the nod and said, "Scene's released."

Grissom nodded again and then signaled that the man could leave with a turn of his head. The man looked all too appreciative and quickly ascended the stairs.

Grissom took a deep breath and turned his attention to the scene and more importantly to the other people that were there. Sara looked pissed, which was understandable given her feelings on things like this. It was an anger that was mirrored in his thoughts as well. What was surprising however was that there was none of that pain that he'd seen the last few months when they entered a scene. Apparently Xander really had helped her with her control.

Grissom shook his head, amazed again. Xander had accomplished basically in five minutes, what Gil and Sara hadn't been able to accomplish in months of effort.

Thinking of Xander he turned his attention to the two new people to gauge their reaction and was surprised at what he saw. Neither seemed particularly disturbed by the scene, which would have bothered him if he didn't now know at least some of what their lives were really like. If half the descriptions they'd given were accurate, then monstrosity, in all its varying forms was nothing new to them.

Willow was kneeled over the bodies of the girls, he could just make out the sound of her voice, as if she were praying, or chanting.

Xander was looking at the wall markings; snapping pictures of each individual symbol and making sure the shots were clear.

Xander completed his task inside of two minutes and then pulled out his cell phone.

"Dawn," he said in way of a greeting, "Is Ellie there yet?"

He paused as the young woman on the other end responded and apparently asked a question as Xander's head nodded slightly and a sad look appeared on his face, "Yeah, it's another one for us."

"Dawn, I…," another pause on his part then, "Twelve, Dawn. They were twelve."

"I know, I'm sending you the markings from my camera, they should come to your account in a couple minutes. They look similar but some of them are different. Make sure that copies go where they need to."

He listened for a time again and then said, "Yeah, with the spell out of the way maybe we can get these bastards,"

"Ok, Dawn, talk to you soon, bye," then he hung up.

He looked at Willow who was still chanting and moved to Grissom and Sara before saying, "Definitely the same guys, which we knew already, but we can confirm it now. Markings are similar, but not exactly the same."

"What does that mean," Sara asked sadness clear in her voice.

Xander shrugged, "Could mean any number of things, but most likely it means that this ritual, whatever it is, is big, real big and it actually has to be done in stages. If that's true then that actually helps us because there can't be that many like that."

He saw confusion on the two CSI's faces and said, "Most rituals take place all at once," he explained, "You do your thing, appease whatever god or demon you're trying to appease then get what you want. In this case, it's different. The last scene and this one combined tell us that this is a multi-stage process. I don't know what they're up to, but we're going to find out and soon."

Grissom nodded and then said, "What did you mean about a spell?"

Xander tapped the side of his head in the universal sign of 'Crap, I forgot!'

He explained quickly about the spell that kept people from seeing the big picture and Grissom nodded, putting it together with what he knew, and what he suspected and said, "So this could have been going on for a while, and the reason no one put it together is because if this 'spell'?"

Xander nodded, "That's right. But now that we know about it, and, more importantly, now that we've broken it we can get some real work done."

"What about my team," Grissom asked suddenly, and he saw Xander's face fall as he realized they didn't know about the spell, which means they would still be under its effects.

Xander seemed deep in thought and finally said, "The only way to break it is for them to be told about it. The only way that will work is if they actually believe in the first place, and the only way that is possible is if…"

Grissom finished the sentence, "If we tell them what's really going on."

Xander nodded, "You're team is damn good but there's no way they can solve this thing as long as they're under the spell's influence. I loathe dragging people into this world if we can help it, but I don't see much choice. With you, it was a done deal, you and Sara were going to have to know because of Sara's abilities, but I hadn't planned on telling the rest of your team, this spell however changes things. The only choice we have is to tell them."

Sara and Grissom shared a look and a silent communication and Sara said, "We don't necessarily have to tell them about me though do we?"

Xander shook his head, "No, not at all, but in my experience once they know about the real world it won't be too long before they notice something about you, especially as smart and observant as they are, but ultimately I'd leave that portion of it up to you. The rest, we can tell them and go from there."

"When," Grissom asked, trying to imagine how the members of his team would react to this knowledge. He suspected they'd all handle it in different ways but ultimately they'd handle it well enough to be able to keep it secret. Of course the threat of national security and summary imprisonment that Xander could threaten them with would help but he didn't think that would be necessary.

Xander looked back at the triplet victims and said, "The sooner the better because as long as they're under its influence they're useless to us, and it takes a while to wear off completely."

Grissom thought about that and said finally, "Soon then."

Xander nodded, "Sounds good."

*****

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce was not a happy man. In years past his unhappiness might have been expressed in a kind of tantrum that would have made a child green with envy. Such was the man he had been; a sheltered fool who believed the world owed him its cooperation.

Six months on the Hellmouth had quickly taught him that was not the case, and the seven years he had been in L.A. fighting along side his friends and coworkers at Angel Investigations had cemented certain hard truths for the man.

So rather than an unmanly tantrum he expressed his displeasure in a much more "mature" way; by slamming his fist down on his desk so hard he actually broke the leg of his rickety desk…again.

The noise naturally brought Cordelia Chase and Winifred 'Fred' Burkle into the office to see what all the noise was about.

They found Wesley down on the floor trying to prop up the now broken desk with a book he wasn't currently using.

Fred, sympathizing with her fiancé leaned on the other end of the desk to help him get the book under it.

Cordelia looked at the desk, then at Wesley and said, "You know Wes, you keep breaking desks and we're going to start taking it out of your pay."

Wesley just glared at her, before sighing and said, "I do apologize Cordelia it's just, this damn ritual. I know it seems familiar some how but it's still so damn unclear because of that damnable spell. It's lifting, I mean at least I've been able to put some things together but I just can't see something and knowing that is very frustrating."

Cordelia was about to say something when the phone rang. Wesley picked it up on the first ring and was half way through the A.I. greeting when the voice on the other end spoke.

"Oh, hello Dawn, how are you this…" he stopped and paled slightly.

"What? When?"

He was listening intently whatever Dawn was saying and Fred and Cordelia looked over at one another nervously. The mood in the room had changed drastically, the temperature seeming to drop as the phone call continued.

"How old," he asked, as if looking for confirmation and then finally he said.

"Give me a few minutes to get my materials sorted here, I've had a small accident and then call back and we can conference with Giles," he paused and said, "Yes, Dawn, Yes, I understand. Talk to you in a few minutes."

Wesley hung up the phone, slowly, almost painfully. He looked off into the distance as if looking right through the walls.

Fred and Cordelia shared another nervous look as Wesley was absolutely still and absolutely silent. Finally, not being able to stand it Cordelia began to speak but the words died before they got a chance to form as if sensing her starting to speak Wesley broke from his trance and all hell broke loose.

He started by hurling a book across the room as rage twisted his features. The book hadn't even finished its trip across the room before he grabbed his desk and flipped the remainder of the contents to the floor as the desk upended.

He then turned to the wall and slammed his fist into the map of Las Vegas he'd set up behind him. Over and over, his fist slammed into the wall splitting his knuckles even as he shattered the plaster.

Naturally the noise brought the rest of the A.I. crew running and Cordelia and Fred were able to drag their eyes away from the site of Wesley's rage as they met the eyes of Charles, Angel, and their newest member, Kate Lockley.

Kate had returned to L.A. just a few months ago and had come to them telling them she couldn't ignore what was out there anymore and she wanted to help. The team had welcomed the woman into the fold fairly quickly.

Angel moved to Wesley silently and grabbed the man's shoulders to stop him. The response was instantaneous and Wesley spun on his friend and let loose with a punch that would knock even Angel on his ass; if it had actually landed.

Angel had been expecting something like this and was able to catch the fist before it landed. He'd grown used to Wesley's temper over the years. It rarely made an appearance but when it did it was a sight that was enough to nearly make Angel forget what it was like to be scared when Ripper made an appearance…almost.

While Wesley's rare but impressive rage was a sight to see, Ripper still made Angel want to find a dark sewer to hide in.

The failed punch seemed to pull Wesley out of his rage and his vision seemed to clear.

He looked at his friends and felt shame as he hung his head. Then the reason for his outburst finally hit him and he sank into his chair, as tears began to fill his eyes.

Fred saw this and ran to him, putting her arms around him, "What's wrong, Wesley?"

Wes wrapped his arms around her and said so everyone could hear, "Dawn said this monster has hit again," he hugged her tighter as he said it, unconsciously resting his head against her belly. The two had just found out a few days ago that Fred was pregnant. They hadn't told anyone else about it although Angel had figured it out pretty easily from the change in Fred's scent.

Angel understood now why the man had reacted as he did. From the beginning Wesley had personalized this case because it involved children a little more than he might have before finding out about his own impending fatherhood. It was the nature of soon to be parents he guessed. He cleared his throat and asked the question no one else had the stomach to ask, "The victims?"

Wesley answered without moving his head from Fred's stomach, "Triplets," he said simply, "Twelve year old girls."

The responses from the others was expected; anger and outrage from Charles and Kate. Kate instinctively moved closer to Charles. She might have been a bad ass cop at one time, but she was still a human being, and some things you could never be ready for.

Cordelia looked like she'd been punched in the stomach and she moved to grab Fred's shoulders as the young physicist started crying in pain that matched her soon to be husband's. Cordelia wasn't sure if it was because she thought Fred needed the comfort or she did, but the tears in her own eyes told her that in the end it didn't matter.

Angel's response was a low, animalistic growl as he thought about the innocent children that had lost their lives hundreds of miles away and his own helplessness.

As Angelus, he had been one of the most feared monsters on the planet, and would have probably thought of what was happening in Las Vegas with envy at not being able to be there to participate.

Now however all he felt was that they had all failed somehow; that there was something more they should be doing and that these deaths were on all of their heads. Such was the guilt he bombarded himself with every day.

He couldn't help but wonder if Xander had called in reinforcements could they have done anything to prevent this. Of course he dismissed the question a moment later as he realized that the time frame was so quick that there was nothing anyone could have done. Of course that knowledge didn't make it any easier.

Finally Wesley seemed to pull himself together and he reluctantly pulled himself away from Fred before surveying the room, "Bloody hell, I've made a mess now haven't I?"

Fred forced a laugh and began to help him pick up his papers, even as Angel and Cordy worked together to get the desk back upright. Kate and Charles grabbed some unused books and used them to prop the desk up for Angel and Cordelia.

After that was done Angel said, "I'm going to hit the streets, if this is supernatural then damn it someone has to know what's going on."

He moved towards the door and Charles looked at Kate who nodded, both agreeing silently to follow the ensouled vampire's lead and help try and find some leads. They both had their own impressive list of supernatural contacts in the city and someone had to know something, somewhere.

After the three had left Cordelia rested her hand on Wesley's tense shoulder and asked, "Are you going to be alright?"

Wesley smiled gently and patted her hand and said, "I'm going to be fine, Cordelia, thank you."

"You're sure," Fred asked, still worried, and upset.

"Yes," Wesley said, "Dawn will be calling in a few moments and we're going to conference with Giles and the researchers and try and figure out what this ritual is about so we can hopefully figure out where they'll strike next."

"Well with that spell clearing it ought to help out some, right," Fred asked hopefully.

"Yes," Wesley said, "hopefully with that no longer clouding our minds we can find something in the archives that will…"

Suddenly he froze again and then shot to his feet like he'd been zapped with a live wire. Frantically he began looking through the papers that had been haphazardly laid back upon his desk. Fred and Cordy could both hear his frantic chanting, "Where is it. Damn it where is it?"

Suddenly he locked his fingers onto something and stood up straight staring intently at a photograph that Giles had sent him of the first crime scene. He stood there for a few more moments and then finally said, "I've seen this before, I'm sure of it."

Cordelia seemed shocked but said, "Where?"

Wesley glanced at her then back at the picture and said, "When I worked for the Council back in England I was assigned for a time to work directly for Quentin Travers. It was a great honor," he stopped and winced as he thought of his deceased former superior and then looked at Cordelia and said, "Well I thought so at the time."

Cordelia smiled, remembering the things she'd heard about the man that had once run the council with an iron fist and a lump of coal for a heart.

"Anyway," Wesley said, getting back to his point, "While I was working for him I came across the mention of a ritual of some sort that had this symbol in it. I didn't really read it and it's been years ago, but I'm sure of it."

"Do you remember where it was," Fred asked hopefully, wanting to do anything to help Willow and Xander solve this before anyone else died.

"Not precisely," Wesley admitted, "but I have a damn good idea where to look and between Dawn, the researchers, and I we should be able to find what this ritual entails very quickly, and once we do that…," he trailed off and Fred finished his thought, knowing exactly what he was thinking, "The thing responsible for this is going to die."

Suddenly, hope seemed to have decided to pay them a visit. Now they just needed to keep their fingers crossed that they were right.

*****

Grissom and Sara continued to process the crime scene as Xander and Willow did what they could to help out. The problem was, that until they could be assured of a little privacy there wasn't much either of them could do.

Finally after nearly an hour Grissom called for the coroner to take the bodies back to Dr. Robbins and had the others return to the lab to start processing the evidence as soon as they were finished.

Not surprisingly it was Greg that departed first, followed by Catherine that said something about needed to stop by her house really quick for something. Grissom was certain that the "thing" she needed to stop by for was a hug from her daughter.

Finally Nick and Warrick left and it was just the four of them.

After the last two criminalists left Xander said, "Finally," he looked at Willow and asked, "What have you got Wills?"

Willow looked up immediately and said, "There's a lot of residual magic here, it's faint but it's definitely there."

"Isn't that what you'd expect from a," Grissom still had a little trouble with the word, "'magical' ritual?"

"Yes," Willow agreed, "But I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about something else, something that permeates the entire house."

She stood up and moved around slowly, as if she were listening to something only she could hear. Then suddenly she stopped and focused intently on one of the walls and then said, "Xander, these people were magic users."

"You mean, the people that lived here," he asked curiously.

Willow nodded, "Yes, definitely, I can see a faint remnant in the auras. They had a protection spell around the house to protect them. Whatever did this broke through it but it's still partially there."

"Auras," Sara asked skeptically. It was a knee jerk reaction but she couldn't help it.

Willow looked at her not unkindly and said, "Auras are real, Sara, just like magic. The truth is they're not even magical in nature they're just the energy that surrounds us and every object in the universe. Some auras are static, like you'd find around inanimate objects. They still have auras because they have a presence in the physical universe and the very nature of matter is one interlinked with energy on an atomic level. The electrical charge of protons and electrons for instance. Other auras, like the ones surrounding living things are constantly shifting, and changing because life itself is dynamic and always changing. Even the static ones aren't necessarily static as they can be effected by the presence of a living aura, either over a long period of time or if the aura is especially powerful."

"Like how some places just feel wrong after a crime's been committed," Grissom asked, for clarification. Remembering a case he and Sara worked a few years ago where a mother, father and two sons had been slaughtered one night.

It had turned out that of the surviving two daughters the eldest had arranged for the murderers in response to snapping after years of sexual abuse at the hands of her father.

It had all come to a head for the girl when her father moved on to his youngest daughter. A little girl that herself was the result of his first daughter becoming pregnant when she was barely a teenager.

When Grissom and Sara had first entered the house the whole place had just felt wrong. It was a feeling that hadn't gone away through the entire investigation.

"Precisely," Willow said, beaming, glad that her explanation was clear, "some things can happen that just taint an area long after the person that caused it is gone."

She took a look around and continued her explanation, "Auras, and the ability to see them is a bit of a lost talent. Thousands of years ago the ability was very common as it helped our ancestors survive in a world that was really not an easy place to live in. Slowly though as we became more 'civilized'" she said the word with air quotes, "we lost the need to read auras and people stopped doing it. Fortunately it's something anyone can learn whether they have magical ability or not, because everyone has an aura, and once they learn to see their own seeing others is just another small step."

Grissom considered the explanation and then asked, "So you can teach a person to do this then?"

Willow nodded, "Sure, want to do it?"

Grissom looked shocked and said, "You mean here? Now?"

"Wills," Xander said, unsure of what her intention was, but feeling a little cautious. It was one thing to tell them about the real world, it was quite another to force an ability on them.

Willow seemed to understand his discomfort and turned to him and said, "I'm not just going to turn it on Xander, I'm just going to get him started, but I can still let him see what I see, can't I?"

Xander considered it and understood what she intended to do, allowing himself to relax. Sometimes he forgot that Willow wasn't the careless woman she'd been. When it came to wanting to teach people something new she'd often gotten lost in the desire to teach it and forgot about asking herself whether it was something she should.

She didn't do that anymore, not really, although sometimes old fears can haunt you. He smiled apologetically at her and nodded his head.

Willow smiled and then turned to Grissom and Sara and said, "Come here, both of you."

The two did and Willow said, "Ok the ability to see auras, like I said, isn't magical it's just a matter of being in tune with yourself. I could just turn on the ability but that can be pretty traumatic sometimes and it's not necessary in this case. I can show you how to get to it on your own but for now I'm just going to basically let you see through my eyes so you know what I'm talking about, ok?"

The two looked at one another then back at her and nodded their heads. Willow smiled wider and said, "Great, ok, just close your eyes and relax."

They did and Willow stepped behind them, resting her hand softly yet firmly on their shoulders so they wouldn't fall over in case they got disoriented, a real possibility.

"Ok, now just listen to my voice and do exactly what I say: Picture the room as it was just before you closed your eyes; think of every object, every texture, every space and plain. Don't try to actively remember them, just let your mind form the images in your heads."

Slowly as she spoke Willow began to extend her Aura as she had learned long ago and allowed it to intermingle with both of theirs. She wasn't going to, as she said, "turn on" for lack of a better phrase, the ability to see auras; she was just going to give them a taste of it. They'd develop the ability on their own if that's what they wanted. What she was doing now actually required more subtlety on her part than simply activating the ability and being done with it. However Xander's concerns had been well founded. They'd all seen what could happen when you gave someone too much too quickly. 'After all,' she thought, 'look what happened to me.' If there was anyone in the world that was a poster child for 'taking it slow' it was her.

Once she had her aura firmly in tune with theirs she said, "Alright now, imagine the room slowly coming into focus. Let the image slowly brighten, sharpen, and become more detailed. Allow yourself to see it with every part of you, not just your eyes. Let yourself see it like it truly is."

Slowly Grissom and both felt the room coming into focus. Just as Willow's voice coached they saw it. Everything was sharper and clearer, even though their eyes were still closed. They let out near identical gasps of surprise and behind them Willow beamed as she said, "Now, open your eyes and see."

They did and what they saw both amazed and horrified them. The room seemed exactly the same, and yet completely different. Colors were sharper and more detailed and everything, especially them had what seemed like an almost transparent field around it.

Grissom was utterly amazed, and immediately he began to notice things about the other people in the room. Xander and Willow he noticed seemed to have "auras" that pulsed in rhythm with one another, and if he concentrated hard enough there seemed to be an almost invisible thread that attached the two to one another.

What really shocked him was that he saw in identical thread that attached him to Sara, and both of them to Willow.

Willow seemed to understand what he was looking at and said, "The 'thread' you see between Xander and me, and you and Sara is indicative of strong emotional connection. They form when you're really close to another person."

Grissom nodded in understanding then asked, "What about the one between the two of us and you?"

Willow nodded, pleased he'd thought to ask that, "It's an artificial connection. It's temporary while you can see the auras. Don't worry it will fade once I break the link."

"You see like this all the time," Sara asked, amazed at the new world that had been opened up to her. Despite the pitfalls and tribulation she'd been put through by this new world, right now it definitely had its allure.

"No," Xander said, answering for Willow, "although you could if you wanted to there's really no reason. It's something you'd usually do when you needed it, and then turned off when you didn't. Think of this like turning on a flashlight in a darkened room."

Sara nodded and then asked, "How come yours and Willows pulses together?"

Willow smiled a sad smile and said, "That's a story for another time."

Grissom seemed to sense a painful memory and decided to let it go, instead asking, "What's this blackness here where the victims were?"

"That," Willow said in disgust, "is an abyss. It's a point in the natural flow of the energy where something dark and unnatural happened."

Willow looked at it closer and said, "If you were to touch it right now you'd sense the darkness and its cold when you feel it. It proves what I thought," she pointed around the edges and said, "See where there's this vibrant red, blue and green?" She looked up at the two who nodded and then said, "That's the energy from the girls. Red is their fear and anger, common in a violent death; green is the energy around their hearts, it's where most magical energy is focused from. It comes in different colors mixed with the green but it all centers on the green and the blue is the throat energy which confirms the trauma to their throats done by the ritual, understand?"

Grissom asked, "But I thought according to the belief in Chakras it's the crown Chakra that controlled the others."

Willow smiled and asked, "You've studied Chakras?"

Grissom nodded, "Dr. Robbins explained them to me once on a case and I did a little research on my own afterwards."

Willow nodded and said, "Well that's true, the crown Chakra is our connection to everything else around us and it does control the other Chakras, but that doesn't mean it's where magic, at least our personal pool of it, is formed and stored. It just means it has control over it."

Grissom nodded, it made sense, just because something was in control of something else, didn't mean it had to produce it. Just like the rest of the body he figured. The adrenal glands produced and stored adrenaline, but it was the signals ultimately originating in the brain that controlled the release of the hormone. He pulled his thoughts together and concentrated again on what Willow was saying.

Willow waited while Grissom seemed to organize his thoughts on the Chakras and their different functions and then finally nodded indicating he was ready for her to continue, "The problem," she explained, "is that if they were dosed with that magical suppression mixture we found in the first three then there shouldn't be any magic mixed with the other two. It should be here, dispersed around the area but it shouldn't be connected to these two colors because that compound would basically seal them off from their magic, effectively nullifying it. But instead its right here meaning somehow their magic was a part of the ritual even though they couldn't access it. Also interesting is the amount. See how little is left of it?"

The two looked at the faint green and nodded, "The death of a person that is magically sensitive should usually leave a lot more of their personal power in the area of their death before it finally dissipates back into the earth. There's hardly any here though and it lacks any personal signatures, it's just raw, insignificant portions of magic that shouldn't be here at all, or if they are should be a lot bigger and a lot more individualized. I think someone took their power, collected it somehow and this is all that's left of them."

"Why would they do that," Grissom asked, nearly overwhelmed by what he was seeing and hearing. A few hours ago this would have all seemed like mumbo jumbo at best, but yet here he was seeing all of it and he couldn't deny it.

Willow shook her head, "I can think of a few reasons, and none of them are good." She looked at Xander with concern who in turn said, "I think we should get back to the lab as quickly as possible. We need to talk to Dawn, in person, now."

*****

The ride back to the lab had been filled with questions and explanations as they worked on the logistics of informing the rest of the night crew CSI about the things that went bump in the night. Grissom was still a little reluctant to do so, as was Xander, who was concerned, as always, with the safety of his family and friends. With every person they told the truth there was a chance that it could blow up in their faces.

Willow and Sara had both joined together in what Xander had long ago dubbed, "Sister Solidarity" and told them both that number one, they needed to know what was going on in order to clear their heads so they could work the case properly and number two, regardless of how low Las Vegas might be on the monster front their was always the chance, as night crew, that they'd run into something. Forewarned was always forearmed.

In the end both men had known they were beaten.

As they broke up Xander and Willow headed for the conference room with Dawn and Ellie, while Sara went to check on the others and where they were with the evidence, as well as to drop off the evidence they had collected.

Grissom was just heading for his office when he heard a voice he really didn't need to hear right now.

"Grissom," Ecklie's voice said, irritation clear in the tone.

Grissom turned and said, "I don't really have time right now Ecklie, I've got evidence to process."

"Maybe you should process a little faster," Ecklie said as he got practically right in Grissom's face, "In case you didn't know this is now the second time in less than forty-eight hours that an entire family has been murdered. The mayor is all over me and the press is in a feeding frenzy. I need a suspect, I need one right now."

"I can't give you what I don't have," Grissom said, "When we have a suspect you'll be the first to know."

"What about this 'boot guy' that Catherine and Warrick tracked down. They have a witness that says he bought the same boots that made the tread marks at the first crime scene."

Grissom was shocked by this, not having heard it but then that wasn't surprising with the day he'd had. He looked pointedly at Ecklie and said, "I haven't spoken to Catherine about that yet," he admitted, "I've been busy, you remember what it was like in the field, don't you, Conrad?"

Ecklie bristled at Grissom's attitude and said, "That's your problem Grissom, you've never known how to manage your time. I can't think right now why I even let you remain as night shift supervisor. The biggest case of your career, of this lab's career, and you're dropping the ball."

Grissom's temper flared and he said, "I haven't dropped anything. Brass was with Catherine and Warrick and he's not a rookie. I don't imagine he's been sitting on a piece of information and not been running with it and again, in case you forgot, I've been at the second crime scene since the call came in. I can't be in two places at once and do two things at once, Ecklie. No one can and process a crime scene the right way."

Ecklie looked around at the people that were now trying to appear busy while listening to this confrontation and said, "Get your evidence and your people together for a day shift briefing. Since you can't seem to handle this investigation I'll give it to a group that can."

Grissom was about to tell Ecklie where he could stick that plan but didn't get the chance as Xander's voice came from behind, "We already discussed this, Mr. Ecklie. We're not going to waste time by bringing in new people and try to catch them up to speed when our time can be better served trying to solve the case."

Ecklie bristled at the challenge to his authority and said, "You're a guest here, agent Harris, in case you forgot. This is still the Las Vegas crime lab. You're here on an invitation from the Mayor."

Xander could here the implied threat and didn't even blink as he just pulled out his cell phone and said, "Don't forget the governor. You want to make that phone call or should I? I've got no doubt who's going to win," he held the phone out to the Lab Supervisor and said, "How about you?"

Ecklie looked like his head was about to explode and glared at Grissom and said, "Get this thing solved, Grissom. Do your damn job."

With that he stormed off not waiting for a response from either of them.

Grissom looked around the area and watched as people quickly went back to actually working and said to Xander, "This is getting bad, we need to solve this thing quick otherwise we might all be out of a job."

Xander just shook his head, "Don't worry about it. The people in the know understand what's going on and why it's taking so long. I can promise you Grissom, one way or another you and your people are going to be protected. You have my word."

Grissom accepted the guarantee gracefully and said, "Damn it we don't have time for this. I'm heading over to the morgue."

Xander nodded and said, "I've still got to talk to Dawn, I'll let you know what I find out."

Grissom nodded and headed for the morgue.

Neither one of them noticed Sophia Curtis studying them both intently as she tried to figure out what had changed that the man Grissom had been so distrustful a few hours ago was now a confidant.

*****

Dr. Robbins sat down heavily at his desk. He had three more victims to autopsy, three more victims of a monster that so far no one was anywhere near catching. He pictured the three little girls sitting on slabs waiting for his knife and felt his emotions boil in a way they hadn't in his entire time as a coroner.

Robbins had always been a man of restraint, being able to count on one hand the number of times he'd ever actually lost his temper. Still in this case he couldn't help the feeling of anger that slammed through him or the way it was expressed as he turned his crutch into a club and slammed down on his desk in anger.

The impact was loud and the vibrations ran up through the crutch into his hands and made them sting with the impact.

It was enough to clear his head and he dropped heavily into his chair just in time for his door to open and Grissom to poke his head in, "You ok, Doc?"

Robbins just looked at him darkly and said, "I told you I don't want anymore of these Gil."

Grissom came the rest of the way in and said, "If I had that kind of power…" he trailed off and Robbins said, "I know, I'm sorry." he stood heavily and tested his crutch to make sure it wasn't damaged before he began moving towards the morgue with Grissom right next to him.

As they got to the door and stepped in he said, "This is twice in less than two days Grissom. What kind of person can do this?"

Grissom wanted to tell him that it wasn't people but he knew he couldn't so he just shook his head instead and said, "I don't know but we're going to get him."

Robbins looked at him and said, "I damn well hope so. Because I honestly don't think I'll be able to do another set like this. I've been a Coroner for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seriously thought about quitting. I just don't see the point anymore."

Grissom looked at his friend sadly. He knew that this case was unlike anything they'd ever faced before. It was testing everyone to their limits. He just had to hope that it didn't claim any living victims, in addition to the ones it already had. He sighed heavily and said, "Bern Williams once said 'Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit,'" Grissom quoted, "Don't give up on the human race, Al, otherwise we let these things beat us. Then where are we?"

Robbins shook his head as he put on his gloves and said, "I don't know, Gil. I honestly don't know."

*****

While Grissom was comforting his friend Sara was trying to get the evidence processed from the new crime scene. The problem was it was as tedious as it was uninformative.

Everything they collected was a virtual mirror of the first crime scene; the only thing that had changed was the names of the victims.

Other than that they had as little to go on this time as they did the last. Except that wasn't true. Sara could see certain things that she hadn't seen before.

The knife wounds on the girls were distinct to a particular kind of blade. This wasn't some simple hunting knife, or even a scalpel, but it was definitely thin and very, very sharp.

In addition when she went to talk to Nick and Warrick and looked at the wounds on the mother and father it was the same entry wound in their foreheads that had been on the first victims' parents and brother.

However this time she noticed that the wound was an odd shape in depth. She made an off handed comment about wondering what the shape was and Warrick had hit on the idea of casting the wound to get a better idea of what the weapon was.

She wondered, off handedly why they hadn't thought of that before but she understood now that the "spell" Willow had told them about was lifting. The sooner they got it broken for the others the better.

Sara was just moving towards Catherine when she saw Grissom storm up to her, anger clear on his face. She arrived just in time to hear him say to her, "You've got a suspect and you didn't tell me?"

Catherine seemed shocked but said, "There wasn't any time. You went off to God knows where earlier and Warrick, Brass and I interviewed the witness. Brass was going to try and track down the guy but then the other call came in and we all had to do that."

"Catherine I don't care what we're doing," Grissom said, anger still evident on his face but at least he wasn't directing it all at Catherine anymore, "If you've got a probable suspect you need to tell me. I'm the supervisor and those are the kinds of things I need to know. I have enough trouble with Ecklie without you guys giving him ammunition."

Catherine looked offended and hurt by the statement and said, "That's not what I was doing."

Grissom looked at her and said, "That's not what you were trying to do, but in the end that's what happened. Ecklie told me to get our things together and hand it all over to day shift since we can't seem to do our jobs."

By now the rest of the team had come together and that statement elicited the expected response from all of them. Everything from, "That's bull," to "No way I'm walking away from this," were heard simultaneously.

"Hey!" Grissom said, forcefully silencing them all. "Forget about Ecklie. This time our new friends took care of it and basically backed him off, but we can't be wasting anymore time with this."

He looked at Catherine and said, "What have you got on this suspect?"

Everyone looked at Catherine expectantly and she gave them the run down on what they were told, including the description and the name.

"So how do we track this guy down," Nick asked, anxious to see someone brought in for this.

Warrick shook his head, "That's the thing Brass was going to work on, before the call on the Devlin's came in," he said, reminding them all of the new victims, "I don't know how far he's gotten but I guess we can ask."

"Wait a minute," Greg said, and they all looked at him, "That name, Stephen…I've heard it before."

Greg ran to a computer and started typing.

Grissom was right behind him, "Where Greg, where have you heard it."

In a surprising display of aggression, a testimony to the young criminalist's anxiety he actually stopped typing for a second, stood and stared right into Grissom's eyes and said, "Just give me a minute, alright?"

Grissom was too shocked to say anything and Greg took advantage of it and went back to the computer.

After a mere moment the computer brought up a result for the search Greg had initiated, as the screen opened he began to read, "James K. Stephens, K. stands for Kenneth. He was a poet in the nineteenth century. He was also known as a huge Misogynist."

When everyone was looking at him Greg said, "I had to read some of his stuff in English Lit back in college; my English Professor thought the guy was 'ahead of his time'. Of course my Lit professor hated women more than anyone I've ever met, treated all of the female students like crap. Finally got his ass fired."

Greg shook his head and continued, "Anyway, James Stephens was described as a 'Big hulking man of incredible strength and dark piercing eyes.'"

Grissom nodded his head, "So we've got a suspect in a spree killing that looks like a writer from the end of the nineteenth century who takes an attitude towards woman that matches his own. If this is our guy then we still have no idea when or where he's going to hit next."

Greg scrolled the page down further and pointed at it. Grissom leaned in and read the page more carefully, and felt a shudder run through his body. Given what he had just learned a few hours ago the idea of what this all could mean caused real fear to enter his heart for the first time he could really remember.

The others weren't able to see the screen because of his blocking it and finally Sara said, "What's it say?"

Grissom took a moment to find his voice again and turned to the rest of his team and said, "James Kenneth Stephen was once named as a suspect in the Whitechapel murders."

Everyone looked confused but Sara and finally Nick said, "I don't remember that."

Sara said, "That's because the Whitechapel murderer went by another name that most people know."

"Which is," Catherine asked, tired of the cloak and dagger and just wanting to know what Greg, Grissom, and Sara were so shaken about.

Finally Greg said, "The Whitechapel Murder is known more commonly as 'Jack the Ripper'."

The effect it had on the others was palpable as they all stared in open mouth shock at what they had heard.

Finally finding his voice Nick said, "Someone's got a sick sense of humor."

Of course that was when fate decided that things weren't bad enough and Xander's voice was heard from the door way, "Maybe," they all turned to him as he spoke, "but I'm not laughing, are you?"

*****

Dawn felt rather than heard Willow and Xander enter the room. She looked over at Ellie who had a grim look on her face.

The conversation with Giles and Wesley had been as disturbing as it had been informative. There was a lot of ground to cover and they had a lot to tell Xander. Most pressing however was that they needed to get moving, and they needed to get moving now.

Xander saw the look on Dawn's face and immediately asked, "What's wrong? Do you know what the ritual is for?"

Dawn nodded, and saw the look of relief on the two Scoobies' faces. She hated the fact that she was about to knock that relief right off their face.

"It's worse than you think," she said.

"How do you know what we think," Willow asked.

Dawn shook her head, "I don't, but whatever you think it's worse than that."

"Dawn…" Xander started only to be shushed with a wave of the younger woman's hand.

"The long and short is someone's hunting magic users and we don't know who, but we know why, and we know what the reason is. More importantly we've got an idea of where the next victims are going to be."

"Well that's good, right," Xander asked, "I mean let's get some kind of surveillance going and trap these bastards."

Ellie shook her head as she entered the conversation, "It's not that simple, the next victims are most likely in L.A."

Xander considered that for a full minute before he said, "Shit!"

He turned to Willow and said, "Get our stuff together, we're out of here in an hour," Willow moved like she was on fire as she bolted from the room headed for their car and ultimately the hotel.

Xander didn't even watch her go as he turned to Dawn, "You've got a lot to tell me I assume, right?"

Dawn nodded and Xander said, "You can brief us in the air, right now get ready to get out of here. Willow will get your stuff and head to the airport. Call over there and make sure that our jet is ready to go."

Dawn nodded, having already anticipated this, "I called as soon as I was done with Giles, he's taking care of things on his end and Wesley will meet us at the airport. The others are already headed to the victims' location. Apparently they know them and have worked with them in the past. At least these three aren't children."

Xander looked at her and said, "That doesn't make me feel any better and I know it doesn't make you feel any better either, Dawn. If it's as bad as you're implying then we need to get there and stop this."

Dawn nodded her head and said, "So the four of us will be in L.A. in a couple of hours."

Xander shook his head, "Not four, I'm going to take Grissom and his team."

Dawn looked shocked, "What, why?"

"Because," Xander said as he started piling his work together and shoving it into his case, "They're experts at interpreting evidence. The only thing that's been holding them back was the spell and we'll take care of that in the air on the way to L.A. This isn't just a demonic or supernatural threat, Dawn this monster is doing things that these people understand. It might be a crime that fits into our world, but it also fits firmly into theirs. We can use them and their expertise."

"Giles isn't going to like that," Ellie said as she packed her things.

"Not his call," Xander said as he headed towards the door, "I'm going to talk to Grissom, make the offer. I don't even know if he'll come but if he will I'll welcome his help."

Xander left the conference room and headed for Grissom's office to look for him. Luckily he saw them in one of the adjoining labs and moved towards them just in time to hear what Greg Sanders said. That information clinched his decision. Whether or not it was the real Jack the Ripper or something else. They knew for a fact that the killer wasn't demonic, but human, or was at one time. They knew that from the fact they hadn't detected any demonic energy at the scene. These people were experts at tracking human monsters. Xander needed them and he knew it.

He walked into the room and responded to Nick Stokes comment in way of a greeting, "Maybe," they all turned to him as he spoke, "but I'm not laughing, are you?"

Grissom turned to Xander and one look at his face told the CSI that something was going on, something important, "What have you got?"

"We've got a pattern, we think we know what's going on and we know where he's headed next. I'm here to tell you we're pulling out and we want you to come with us."

Grissom looked at Xander's face and knew what he wasn't saying. They found something supernatural that told them where to go next but he couldn't say that in front of the others. Still he didn't understand why Xander would want him, "Why me?"

Xander shook his head, "I want all of you, the whole team. Homeland Security will cover the bill and take care of everything you need. But you've been on this since it started and it's better to have you with me than trying to explain it to another team somewhere else," the words made perfect sense, and Grissom understood the underlying implication of them.

They had already decided to inform the team of the truth, so it was betters someone in the know, go with them than risk going through all of it again with another team in another city.

Grissom still seemed unsure however and said, "Where are we going?"

"L.A.," Xander informed them simply, "We've got a lead on his next set of victims and they've got a head start on us. So we need to move now."

"I'm not so sure we can just go to L.A., Xander," Grissom said still unsure.

Naturally Ecklie picked that moment to step into the room, the sheriff right behind him "What do you mean, L.A.?"

Xander answered before Grissom could, "We have a lead that the killer's next victims are going to be in L.A. My team and I are headed out now. I want Grissom and his team with us because they're already intimately involved with the case. It's more efficient that way."

"I'm not going to just let you take one of my CSI teams to another city on a hunch," Ecklie said, anger clear on his face and the face of the Sheriff that was with him. "They have work to do here. And if this killer is leaving our jurisdiction then they have other work that needs to be done."

Grissom, not willing to let him and his team be discussed like they weren't there said, "Conrad, we've got all the evidence and knowledge on this case. If we want to stop this maniac then we should go. That's what we're here for."

The sheriff said, "No, Gil, you're here to serve the people of Las Vegas. L.A. has their own CSI teams to take care of it and if this killer is leaving our area then it's someone else's problem now."

Xander couldn't believe what he was hearing, "My God do you people even hear yourselves. This monster kills nearly a dozen people, six of them children and you want to let him walk away because he's suddenly not in your jurisdiction? That's the biggest bunch of crap I've ever heard."

Ecklie sneered at him and said, "Your objection is duly noted Agent Harris. However, since Las Vegas is no longer part of your investigation I want you out of my lab effective immediately; you and your people."

"Conrad…"Grissom began but he was cut off.

"That's Mr. Ecklie to you Grissom, or maybe you've forgotten who's in charge here. This isn't a discussion, and it's not a debate. You work for me. I'm your boss. I'm telling you that you are not going. That's all you need to hear. Say one more word and you can consider yourself not only on suspension but seriously in jeopardy of losing your job. Do I make myself clear?"

"So we've got so much work to do here," Grissom said, "That you're going to suspend me?"

"If that's what it takes," Ecklie said, "to get you to understand where you are on the totem pole," Ecklie had a full head of steam by this point and he wasn't letting it go. Too many years frustrated by Grissom had finally come to a head, "You're an underling, Grissom, nothing more. You're a cog in a machine that works whether you want it to or not and it works the way I say it does, not you. You're people do what I tell them to do and so will you. You've been allowed to get away with too much for too long and it's time someone yanked your leash and put you in your place. If suspension and demotion is what it takes to do that, then so be it. But one way or another you're going to learn to respect your superiors."

By now the entire lab was silent, listening to the virtual screaming match that was taking place between Grissom and Ecklie. Everyone knew the barely contained animosity that existed between these two but no one had ever expected this. Even the Sheriff, a man that had had his problems with Grissom in the past, wasn't expecting this. He wanted and needed to step in and defuse the situation but for the life of him he didn't know how. It was like watching a train wreck and not being able to do anything about it.

Grissom looked at his team who all seemed to be giving him their support. Even Catherine, who Grissom would expect to be the last person to risk her job given all that she'd worked for, and all that she had to lose seemed unwilling to back down in the face of Ecklie's vicious, and humiliating assault on Grissom, in public no less."

Finally Grissom looked at Xander and said, "I can't speak for my team, but I'll be ready to go within the hour."

Ecklie just looked like he'd been hit with a bat and said, "Grissom I don't know if you're losing your hearing again but apparently you didn't hear me. If you even try to leave Las Vegas to go to L.A. you can consider yourself fired. Do you understand?"

Grissom just looked at Ecklie and for the first time let every bit of contempt he had for the man show on his face.

Most people thought Gil Grissom was incapable of politics, but that wasn't really true at all. Grissom could do it he just didn't see the need. His first priority, as always, has been to the truth. The truth, in his opinion, didn't bow to politics or anything else. The truth was the truth no matter who didn't like it.

In his mind when he took on this calling, and to him that's what it was, not a job, or a career, but a calling, he knew that sometimes he was going to come into conflict with others that didn't see it as he did, but never had he ever thought that trying to discover the truth and stop a monster like he was facing now could cost so much.

Still, for a man like Grissom the hard thing wasn't something you shied away from it was something you faced and you did because it was also usually the right thing.

So with that in mind Grissom steeled himself and slowly, but deliberately lifted the I.D. badge from around his neck and threw it on the table in front of Ecklie as he said, "Don't bother firing me, Conrad. I quit!"


	9. Chapter 9

9. Implosion

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: This is as we call it the "Big Reveal" although not so big and not so dreary. I tried to picture what everything that's happened would be like and how it would be taken and THIS is how I see it. I hope you all like it.

The Council jet streaked across the sky at nearly supersonic speed. The trip from Las Vegas to L.A. generally took, by commercial flight, an hour to an hour in ten minutes. Of course most commercial jets traveled at speeds of up to six hundred miles an hour. The Council jet was edging past seven-hundred and would be landing at LAX less than thirty minutes after it took off. Once again the wonders of working with the government rather than against it were paying off as the jet was given special permission to travel at this speed and was given preferential clearance for taking off and landing.

Unfortunately this meant that the air wasn't really an ideal place to have a 'The world is older than you know,' speech and it was decided that they'd wait until they got to the Hyperion before giving the CSI team some hard truths about the world they lived in.

Xander looked over the Vegas CSI's as they talked quietly amongst themselves about what had happened back at the lab.

There had been a tense moment and then slowly, the other members of the night shift began to move forward.

Sara, not surprisingly had been first. She didn't say anything, just stepped up and tossed her I.D next to Grissom's.

Surprisingly it was Greg that went next, throwing his I.D up as well and then turning to Grissom and saying, "I'm not stopping until we catch these people."

Grissom had nodded to the young man appreciatively.

Next were Warrick and Nick, naturally it was no surprise since those two always stuck together. They were brothers in every way but blood, and where one went, the other followed. It was kind of noble in its way if it didn't lead them to trouble sometimes.

Finally it was just Catherine. Standing there like a deer in the headlights.

Brass could see how uncomfortable she was, trying to decide what to do, weighing the pros and cons of each decision.

She had a lot to lose if she walked. She had a career here and seniority, and Brass knew she'd been aching for years to get a supervisor position.

Still, Grissom had helped her in so many ways over the years and that bought a lot of loyalty.

The problem was it wasn't just her; it was her daughter she had to think about. Her job was what kept them out of the poor house and off the street.

Then, like a delivering angel Xander had spoken up, taking the attention away from Catherine for a moment.

"Just so we're clear, I meant it when I said that Homeland Security will pick up the bill. I can promise you here and now that every single one of you will have jobs in the department waiting for you as soon as we're finished with this case. I can even guarantee that you can stay together as a team working for me if that's what you want. Naturally, you'll be paid in accordance with your expertise. My budget isn't restricted by voters like it is here."

The last part was said while looking directly at Ecklie and the Sheriff, but was also a way of alleviating some of the obvious stress he saw on Catherine's face.

Ecklie was sputtering again and said, "You can't just hire Homeland Security agents. I know you don't have that kind of power."

Xander nodded, "You're right, but I do have the power to hire members for my team at my discretion; as long as I stay in budget, and I have a very large budget. No one will say a thing about who I bring in as long as they can pass a basic security screening and that won't be a problem with this crew I can assure you. Hell bringing in experts like this will be a major feather for me; your loss is my gain."

Xander was playing the political edge just a little. In reality he didn't give a damn about feathers unless they were being used for things he didn't discuss in public. But this jackass needed a smack down, and making him realize what he was losing, in terms he understood was just the way to do it in Xander's opinion.

Ecklie was just speechless and Xander turned away from the man as if the very sight of him offended him. Xander turned to Catherine and said, "I know you have other considerations because of your daughter, but I can assure you, Catherine, you'll be paid more than sufficiently enough to take care of her, in fact better than you'd ever be paid here."

Catherine nodded her head and stepped forward. That assurance all she needed to hear. As she stepped up to Grissom she was afraid that she'd see betrayal in his eyes or the eyes of the others. Instead she saw pride in Grissom's eyes and shock in everyone else's.

Apparently none of them thought she'd walk. That fact stung just a little bit and she decided that she needed to talk to them all soon and make sure they knew how important they all were to her.

They weren't just coworkers anymore. That classification had long since passed. It had been buried, and she hated thinking like that, the same day that they pulled Nick out of the ground and were brought back together as a team. These people were family to her. It was time she made sure they knew it.

After that it was a whirlwind of activity as they got equipment and files and ran for the door. Xander made sure that Ecklie stayed out of the way of the team as they got themselves organized and out the door to go to the airport.

As a parting shot Xander said, "Homeland Security appreciates your cooperation Mr. Ecklie and I'll be sure to inform my superiors of exactly what went down here, and why," Ecklie actually paled at that and Xander twisted the knife just a little more as he smiled pleasantly and said, "Have a nice day."

He hadn't even bothered to look over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

*****

Jim Brass sat watching his daughter as she interacted with Harris and his people. He still didn't know what was going on and he didn't care. All he knew was that he had her in his life and he wasn't going to let her go even if it cost him his badge. In the end he didn't need to worry.

He'd just arrived at the Lab in time to see and hear the confrontation between Grissom and Ecklie. In all honesty he was surprised it hadn't happened years ago, but Grissom usually had a firm grip on his temper. This case however had pushed the man to the breaking point and naturally that's when Ecklie had decided to start testing the limits by trying to throw his weight around. Although it seemed strange since Ecklie had a little more sense than to be that aggressive especially in front of others. Guess they were all feeling the pressure from this case.

Even as the confrontation was taking place however Brass had no idea just how far it would go. He had stood there dumb founded as he watched Gil remove his I.D. and summarily quit on the spot.

Then the rest of the crew, every single one of them, had followed suit. Not even bothering to look back as they gathered what they needed and left.

Brass had seen Ellie leave with them and he ran to his office to get as much of his stuff that he needed before heading out to try and catch them.

*****FLASHBACK*****

Brass grabbed his briefcase and threw a few things into before turning and heading back out. He was brought up short as Sheriff Burdick came storming into his office.

"Where do you think you're going," he'd asked heatedly.

Brass didn't even acknowledge the man instead pulled off his badge and his gun and slammed them on the desk saying, "My daughter is with them, if you think I'm letting her go alone you're as insane as Ecklie is."

Sheriff Burdick actually seemed to bristle at that but calmed down as he seemed to realize that in some ways hooking himself to Ecklie had been a liability. The proof of that was that arguably the best damn CSI team in Vegas had just, walked out of the lab, possibly for good.

This was a political nightmare and the Sheriff wasn't going to let Ecklie's arrogance screw him without a fight.

Burdick grabbed the badge and gun and held them back out to Brass and said, "Go! Go with them, I'm giving you permission, hell I'm ordering you to go. All I ask is that you try and talk to Grissom and his team and get them to come back when they're done."

Brass just looked at him and said, "You heard Ecklie, the things he said there were way over the line. There's no way Grissom's going to come back to this lab while he's in charge, and in this case, where Grissom goes the rest will follow. Hell you heard Harris, they've got nice jobs with Homeland just waiting for them. What they hell do you think I'm going to be able to do about it?"

"I don't know but this is totally unacceptable, Jim," the Burdick said, "I'm not an idiot. Although I've had problems with Grissom in the past he's never intentionally screwed me or the department over and in fact he's kept us safe from ourselves on more than one occasion when we didn't even see the trouble we were getting into."

He rubbed his face and continued, "I know how important he is to this lab and I know what he's done for our status. I'm not going to lose an asset like that to the feds without a fight. I don't care what it takes. Talk to Grissom, talk to his people. Tell them whatever they need to come back they'll have. I don't care if I have to give Grissom Ecklie's job. That's what I'll do."

Brass just chuckled, "That's the last thing you should offer. Grissom doesn't want Ecklie's job, and never did. Hell to tell you the truth he wouldn't be good at the damn job anyway. Grissom is, or was, doing exactly what he wants. Solve crimes and get to the truth with his people beside him. That's all he wants and all he's ever wanted. Ecklie's become too much of a pain to do that anymore."

"Well you know the man better than I do," Burdick, "Just try to fix this for me, Jim, Please."

Brass had made a noncommittal, "I'll see what I can do," before he practically sprinted out of the lab and headed for the airport.

In the end he barely made it in time, as the plane was loaded and they were ready to start taxiing to the runway.

Brass had been able to get Harris out of the plane and talk to him, all but begging to be permitted to accompany them.

In the end it hadn't been Harris, but Ellie that had been the deciding factor. Harris had glanced over his shoulder to her and seen her nod. Harris had turned back and simply said, "Welcome aboard," before heading back to the plane.

*****END FLASHBACK*****

Brass hadn't missed the nod from his daughter and considered the implications of why Harris would acquiesce to her wishes to allow him to come. Unfortunately the thoughts led him down a road he didn't want to consider and so instead he'd concentrated on other things as he climbed onto the plane and buckled up.

Now that they were in the air however all his thoughts centered on his daughter as he got a chance to really study the young woman she had become.

He had to admit she looked good. Not from an appearance standpoint because that just made him wonder about her love life and that made the father in him growl like a pissed off lion, but from a health stand point.

It was obvious that not only was she off drugs but that she had been for some time.

She moved with a fluid grace that he'd never seen before and she went back and forth between Harris, Rosenberg, and Summers like they were all best friends rather than coworkers. He knew that the three were from Sunnydale and had known each other for a while, but it was interesting to see that Ellie was part of that dynamic and so at ease with them. Despite his continued misgivings about Harris and his people if they'd helped Ellie to become the person she was today, he owed them a huge thank you.

Just then the plane was hit by a spot of turbulence and everyone was jostled fairly harshly.

Drinks were spilled and papers fell to the floor. It was over before it began and everyone seemed to be alright.

The pilot called back and apologized for the fright and told them they'd be on the ground in fifteen minutes.

Brass barely heard the pilot as all his attention was focused on his daughter. He looked back down the plane to see if anyone else had noticed anything. He saw Grissom and his people trying to recover from the spills and still deep in conversation. None of them gave any hint that anything was wrong, or that they had noticed anything.

Brass had, however. The plane had jumped and shook with the turbulence, drinks had fallen and people had yelped in surprise; everyone but Ellie. She'd been cool as a cucumber. What's more, Brass had watched in fascination as her drink had slid off of the small table she'd had it on but instead of striking the ground like everyone else's she'd snatched it right out of the air in a movement so fast Brass had barely been able to see it.

She brought the drink back to the table as if nothing had happened and continued with her discussion with the other three people she was with as they cleaned up their spills and got new drinks.

Brass narrowed his eyes as he saw all this. Something was definitely not right here. It was one thing for his daughter to move so fast as to catch a falling drink without spilling it. It was another for her to have done so without really even looking at the drink as it fell. It was something else entirely however when she was able to do that and none of the people she was with seemed to have taken any special notice of the incredible move.

Something was definitely off, and he suddenly he found his suspicious nature was back in full and he was more determined than ever to find out what was going on. More importantly he was determined to find out what his daughter had to do with it.

*****

Angel entered the loft of the three Furies as they were known. Three of the most powerful and beautiful women he'd ever seen in his long existence and they all had the hots for him.

He frowned at that, 'Hots,' he thought, ''I spend too much time around the Slayers.'

He was so busy griping at himself about the disadvantages of hanging around teenaged girls that he'd almost missed it, emalmost

Something was seriously wrong. Usually by now the three beauties were all over him. Instead the place felt like a tomb.

He smelled something that wasn't right, and immediately identified it, 'Fear!'

He moved through the loft quickly, following his nose and his senses and kicked in a door that he assumed led to a bedroom. What he saw made him scream in rage.

A man was there standing over the three Furies. They were each laying upon the ground something that looked like nails holding them to the ground. It was just like the photos of the crime scenes in Vegas that Wesley had shown him.

He could tell from where he was standing that the three beauties were still alive but they wouldn't be if he didn't do something and soon.

He stormed at the thing that looked like a man standing over them as his Game face slid over his features.

He plowed into the bastard like a freight train sending them both into the wall so hard they left an impression.

The man came right back and grabbed a hold of Angel and shoved him back and away but Angel held on and suddenly they were in a test of strength, each trying to get the upper hand.

Angel could smell the blood in the man's veins, he could hear his heartbeat, and he couldn't sense any demonic power coming from this man. Everything about him told Angel that he was human yet not only was the man matching Angel's strength he was actually starting to win.

Angel's eyes flickered over to the three Furies; he could see their eyes on him, pleading for help. It was enough to make him dig down deep inside himself for some last vestige of strength, and he put everything he had into shoving this man back and away.

It worked barely and the man stumbled back an inhuman, animalistic rage twisting his features. It was so inhuman in fact that Angel actually rechecked the air with his nose to ensure that what it had told him before was true.

Human, again. It didn't make sense. Then there was no more time to think as the man rushed him, throwing hard fast blows from every direction and Angel could concentrate on nothing but protecting himself from his attacker.

The blows were so fast, and so hard that he couldn't even think about going on offense.

Then, from somewhere deep in his mind he heard a voice. A voice he'd tried every day to block out, because it was a voice that was his own, but wasn't.

It was a voice that had been his constant companion since he got his soul back. A voice that taunted him with his crimes and reveled in the pain the memories caused him. It was the sadistic, narcissistic voice of Angelus.

This time, however Angelus was actually making sense, 'He's too strong to out muscle, out think him, stupid. Use some of that Kung-fu crap that Whistler taught you when he was 'preparing' you to help the Slayer.'

It was said with a sneer but it made sense and Angel blocked and pushed back gaining a fraction of a second chance to set him self for the next attack.

Suddenly Angel shifted and as the madman's punch came in he spun to the side and caught the arm, spinning around like he was swing dancing he added his momentum to his attackers creating, for his attacker anyway, an uncontrollable amount of force. A force that Angel was at the center of and his attacker was just along for the ride, helpless to do anything about it.

Angel continued his spin and then released the man in the direction of the window. He flew like a guided missile into, straight through, and out the window without so much as a scream.

Angel ran to the window and wasn't at all surprised when he saw that his attacker's body was no where to be found. Whoever this bastard was he was going to be back, of that Angel had no doubt.

After taking a few unneeded breaths he turned towards the Furies and started to assess the damage done to them, all the while berating himself for nearly getting them all killed.

He'd been spoiled these last few years. Living on the Hellmouth it'd taken all the skills Whistler had hammered into him to survive. The demons and vampires there had been hopped up on the Hellmouth's energies and he'd needed every advantage he could get to take them on.

Here in L.A. however he was one of the strongest things out on the streets and he'd been spoiled by that. He'd relied on brute force alone, forgetting that sometimes the best thing to do was avoid a confrontation entirely.

The move he'd pulled was a basic, right out of the beginner class Aikido move, but it had worked. He hated to admit it but Angelus had actually saved his ass. Something he was sure he was going to be hearing about for months.

He ignored the chuckle in his mind and examined the nails, nails that were holding the Furies in place.

He tried to smile reassuringly at the first Fury, a beautiful, 'But then they were all beautiful, weren't they?, blonde. He grabbed the nail that held her right hand and yanked it free. She cried out in pain and he apologized as he moved to pull free the second.

Slowly, he moved around to each one of them in turn, whispering reassuringly to them as he freed them from the floor and helped them to put on the robes that they generally wore.

Luckily the…thing that had attacked them, he wasn't calling it a man no matter what his senses told him, hadn't gotten around to carving them up. So the only real damage they had was the nails, but those wounds were bleeding badly.

They needed to heal and he knew just who to take them to. He gently lifted the first nearly unconscious woman to his chest and moved out of the apartment. He just hoped he got there on time.

*****

The arrival at the Hyperion was relatively uneventful and the CSI's piled into the lobby looking around the hotel in confusion.

"This is where you work," Sara asked.

"No," Xander said, "I actually work in Africa usually; occasionally I work in England and here in the states. This is a P.I. firm that works closely with us here in L.A. Allow me to introduce Charles Gunn," the bald black man nodded, "Kate Lockley, formerly of L.A.P.D.," the blonde ex-cop nodded, "the lovely Winifred 'Fred' Burkle," the bespectacled brunette nodded to them shyly, "her fiancé and one of my best friends, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," the tall man nodded as he placed a protective arm around 'Fred', "and last but certainly not least, Cordelia Chase," the short haired woman nodded.

Xander quickly made the introductions of the Las Vegas people then looked around, "Where's the H.M.F.I.C.?"

"What's that mean," Fred asked.

Xander grinned at the easy set up, "Head Mother Fuc…"

"Xander," Willow shouted, slapping him on his shoulder, "a little professionalism if you don't mind?"

Xander looked at the confusion on the new people's faces and said, "Sorry, old habits die hard."

"Who are these people," Brass asked, clearly not liking what was going on. He looked at Ellie for some hint and got only a small nervous smile.

"I just told you," Xander said, "this is a P.I. firm that works with us from time to time. They're good people, know all the dark alley ways and backrooms that are going to help us track this killer."

"Shouldn't we be contacting a liaison with L.A.P.D.," Nick asked suddenly concerned that they might have made the wrong decision in walking out on their old jobs.

"We will, we will," Xander said in a calmly assuring tone, "First we need to get some things out of the way first."

Quickly six chairs were brought out from various sources and everyone was told to take a seat. Naturally the team looked to Grissom for lead and sat down as he did.

As they were all settling Xander stepped up and said, "Right, ok. There's a big long speech that we usually give newbie folks but we're a little pressed for time, so I'm going to give you the short version. I'll get Giles to give you the long version sometime, he loves doing that."

He met each of their eyes in turn and said, "A long time ago the worst monsters you've ever imagined used to walk the Earth, it was Hell, in the literal sense. Eventually they were forced off the Earth and we came along. Unfortunately those monsters, those demons didn't go without a fight, and because of them we have many monsters that still walk the Earth, amongst them are vampires."

He watched everyone's face and said, "That's right, vampires are real."

"What the hell," Warrick said, "Are you telling me I walked out of my job for this?"

"Grissom, what the hell is going on," Catherine asked angrily.

"Hey!" Xander's voice cut through and they all looked back to see his eyes were glowing, green. Well the one eye and where the other eye should be was glowing.

They all stared dumbfounded, Nick said to no one in particular, "Are you seeing this?"

There were nods from Greg and Warrick.

"Magic, is real," Xander began, "demons, vampires, witches, are real, all this, is real the sooner you accept it the sooner you can get to your jobs."

He allowed his eyes to return to normal and said, "I know this is big, huge in fact, for you, but this is the way it is. The sooner you understand that the sooner you can get past it and get on with why you're here."

"Why," Catherine began and she actually had to clear her throat, "Why are we here?"

"To solve a crime," Xander said simply, "that's all. Nothing nefarious, nothing bad, just do your job on a slightly larger and more important scale than you're used to. Whatever this thing is that's killing these kids is big, bad, and wants to do some serious evil. We have to stop it before it succeeds and we need you to do it."

He took a deep breath and said, "I know, you're scientists and I know that you need proof. My little light show probably wasn't enough but don't worry, Willow here's going to show you something…"

He was interrupted by a phone ringing.

Cordy blanched and said, "That's the private line."

She ran around the counter and picked up the phone, taking a guess on who it was, "Angel?"

Even from this distance the CSI team could hear the loud, desperate voice on the other end, and heard one word clearly, "Willow."

Willow quickly dashed over and took the proffered phone from Cordelia, "Angel?"

"Willow," Angel's voice sounded stressed out, "I've got the Furies, but the son of a bitch was already there when I got there."

"Oh no," Willow said, "How bad?"

"I stopped him before he could get started," the vampire said, desperation clear in his voice, "but he'd already nailed them to the floor, and I couldn't leave them there. I got the nails out but the wounds are bleeding a lot more than they should. I need help or I'm going to lose them."

Instinctively Willow began drawing her power to her as she said, "Where are you?"

"I'm in an alley way, about ten miles south of the Hotel, there's no one around. Hurry Willow or they're not going to make it."

Willow closed her eyes for a moment and stretched out with her senses. Instinctively her power sought out the soul that she had reached into the ether and pulled out long ago. Locking onto it she opened her eyes and the CSI's were shocked as her eyes seemed to practically glow white and she said in a voice filled with power, "I'll be there in a moment, Angel. Don't worry."

She dropped the phone and reached her hands out to either side of herself, as she lifted into the air and vanished in a pyrotechnic display of lighting and wind.

Everyone was shielding their eyes from the bright flashes of lighting and Grissom and Warrick each shielded Sara and Catherine in turn; instinctively protecting them with their own bodies.

After the lightning ended and the wind settled Xander looked at the spot his best friend had just been in and then calmly looked at the Las Vegas CSI night shift that he had been just moments ago trying to convince of what the world was really like and said without a trace of sarcasm, "So," he couldn't help but grin slightly, "any questions?"

*****

Things were calm for a quick count of five and then all hell broke loose.

"The Furies must have been attacked by whoever did the attacks in Las Vegas," Wesley said as he headed immediately for the weapons cabinet.

The Vegas crew looked at one another in confusing, Furies?

Wesley ignored the people that were still sitting in their seats stunned, "We have to assume that they know where Angel is bringing them. That makes this place a target."

He turned to Gunn and Kate, handing both of them axes, "Do a quick sweep and make sure that we're secure. I don't expect that they could attack us that swiftly but we have to be sure. The Furies must be protected."

The two nodded without saying a word but Xander stopped them, "Here," he said going over to one of the cases he insisted on bringing from the plane. He opened it and Grissom noticed several rows of .45's and dozens of fully loaded magazines. Xander pulled out two of the .45's and two clips for each. He stood and handed them to Kate Lockely and Charles Gunn.

"Got a chance to test these," Xander said, "They work like a charm. They should work against anything that an ax would and a hell of a lot safer than hand-to-hand."

"You've gotten the chance to do a real test then," Wesley asked as he examined the weapon as Charles checked the muzzle and then nodded.

Xander nodded and grinned that way that made people nervous and said, "Blew the leg right off a demon, one shot."

"Excellent," Wesley said, "Excellent job Xander, truly. You've done something the Council never thought possible."

Xander snorted as Gunn and Kate moved off to their assigned task, "They never cared so never tried, Wesley."

At that moment Catherine, having had enough of not knowing what was going on whisteled loudly getting everyone's attention. She took a deep breath and said, "What in the hell is going on?"

Xander looked at Wesley and said, "Its real simple, Catherine. The guy that runs A.I. went to pick up the people that we thought were the next victims and unfortunately we were right, but we were too slow."

Catherine looked pained and Xander said, "Luckily he got there before they were killed and rescued them. Apparently they were injured and that's why he called Willow."

"About that," Brass said, trying very hard to maintain his composure in a situation that he had absolutely no control over, "where exactly did Miss Rosenberg go?"

Xander smiled, "Look guys, I know this had been a rough couple of minutes. Honestly I was going to try and make this a little easier. Just do what I did with Grissom. Prove to you that magic was real. Convince you that the thing you were facing was supernatural and then answer your questions later. But that plan didn't survive first contact with the enemy. So instead you're getting the crash course, so here it is."

He took a deep breath, "What you saw was Willow teleporting herself from here to where Angel is to give medical aid. Willow is a witch, in fact Willow is arguably the most powerful witch in the world, or at least the Northern Hemisphere, we're still not to clear on that," he smiled but it dropped when he saw that none of the newcomers were smiling with him. He shook his head, 'No appreciation for badly timed humor,'

He sighed and continued, "The people that this guy has been killing have all been magic users. Like I said, magic, is real and with Willow's demonstration I don't think I have to work to keep convincing any of you of that do I?"

He looked at them all in turn and received a shake of the head from Brass, Warrick, Nick, Greg, and Catherine.

He nodded, "Good. Now like I said, you'll get the full class 'real world 101' story later. All you need to know is that after we secure the victims you're going to have a crime scene to examine, and you'll have the added bonus of living victims to interview."

"Shouldn't we be taking them to a hospital," Greg asked, remembering some of what was done to the other victims.

"We have to maintain security, and we can't do that in a hospital, too many unknowns, too many variables, besides a hospital can't do anything for them that Willow can't," Xander said and as if on cue the doors practically exploded open Angel supporting two of the barely walking Furies and Willow practically carrying the third.

"Little help," Willow said, pleadingly and Nick immediately moved into action. His brain was definitely not firing on all cylinders, and he knew that. He'd been raised a good Texas Christian boy and his entire world view had just been kicked on its side and stomped on. But right now he had something semi-normal he could concentrate on, people that needed help.

As Nick picked up the woman that Willow was helping she opened her eyes and looked into his own. For a moment Nick was lost, he'd never seen such dark eyes before. Never seen eyes that seemed to look at him as if they knew every secret he ever had. She reached up slowly with her hand and touched his face and he heard a voice in his head say, 'You don't need to fear the dark any more. You're free.'

Nick knew, in some part of his own mind, that someone talking to him in his mind, telepathy for Pete's sake should be impossible. But that was a word he'd learned in the last twenty minutes didn't really mean much.

For some reason he couldn't explain the words had a calming influence on him and a part of him that he hadn't even really accepted, a part that was hyped up and jittery, and had been since he was pulled out of that hole more than a year ago stilled, and was silent.

For the first time since he could remember since that horrible experience, Nick Stokes was at peace.

*****

The Furies were moved upstairs; Nick and Warrick helping Angel in moving the three women upstairs to a room where they could rest.

As they were taken up and the chaos that had dominated the lobby settled something clicked in Catherine's mind and she spun on Grissom and said, "You knew about this."

Grissom looked at her shocked but didn't try to deny it, instead he simply nodded his head, "Since earlier today, just before we went to the crime scene in Summerland."

Anger flashed clearly across her features and she said, "You knew, and you didn't think it was something that we should know?"

"I didn't have time, Catherine," Grissom said, defensively, "he wasn't even finished before we got the call about the Devlin's."

Catherine thought about that and then said, "But Sara was with you," she turned to the dark haired woman and said, "Right?"

"Yeah," Sara said guiltily.

She turned back to Grissom and slowly things started clicking in Catherine's mind. Grissom could see her putting things together and knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

Nick and Warrick came back down and both could sense the tension in the room, Xander, Willow and the A.I. team stood off to the side, watching, and waiting.

Suddenly Catherine's eyes lit up with understanding, "You wanted Sara there because something's going on isn't it?"

She didn't wait for Grissom's answer and turned back to Sara, "For months you've been off. You've been acting strange since last year, but it's been worse the last few months. The headaches that have gotten more frequent recently. The sudden insights into the cases; also happening more often lately; it's all starting to make sense," again her eyes went to Grissom and she said, "You've know about this for months."

"No," Grissom said, "No, we just found out."

"But you've known something, something to do with Sara," she turned to Sara again, "Something you didn't trust us with," she said indicating the rest of the team.

"And me, I thought we were friends," Catherine said, "I never once betrayed your trust, either of you, not once and still…," she stopped her voice was hard with the anger that was raging through her.

She shook her head, "I can't…," she stepped back away from both of them, the betrayal clear, "I can't be here right now."

She turned and started towards the door, "Catherine," Grissom called, and the tone in his voice actually stopped her. She didn't turn back though, "I'm sorry," he said.

Catherine still didn't turn back and went out the door.

Xander looked at Ellie and she met his eyes, instinctively looking to him to for guidance. A simple motion with his head and Ellie was out the door behind Catherine, moving silently as she went to keep an eye on the woman.

*****

Dawn listened to what was happening with more than a little concern. She hated it when her world hurt good people. These people were like her family, the Scoobies.

It was all for one and one for all, but because the Fickle Finger of Fate had decided that Sara's life wasn't complicated enough as it was she'd been forced to keep secrets from her family, and that never worked out.

Realizing there was nothing she could do for them she took her case into the office and set up her laptop, cross referencing what she had with what Wesley had, just to make sure what they had come up with was accurate, and wishing it wasn't.

One good thing, if anything good could be found in this nightmare, was that they had bought themselves some time.

Angel's stopping of the ritual had actually worked in their favor; in this case getting there almost too late had been better than getting there before it started.

Had Angel gotten to the Furies before the thing they were after had, it would have just moved on to its next target. Now, instead, it would have to prepare everything again before it could move on.

From what they had found in tracking the number of times this has happened they found a pattern that told them the attacker, or attackers as was possible needed approximately forty-eight hours for the necessary preparations to be done so that a part of the ritual could be performed. They'd gleaned that from the fact that, like in Vegas, even when targets were in the same general location, they weren't hit immediately one right after the other but there was always that same two day space.

It had been that way in every situation where there were multiple targets in a general location.

That meant they had forty-eight very short hours to find out who was ultimately behind this and to stop them.

As Dawn listened to the situation out in the lobby spin steadily out of control she wondered if it would be enough time.

*****

Nick looked at Grissom while Warrick went out the door looking for Catherine. Nick was pissed and anyone that knew him could tell, "What the Hell is going on here. I thought we were a team."

Grissom looked at Nick and sighed deeply before saying, "We are, Nick. That hasn't changed."

"How can you say that," Nick asked, "when you're keeping secrets like this?"

Grissom was at the end of his patience, Catherine's reaction hadn't been totally unexpected, but it had still been upsetting. Grissom looked Nick right in the eye and said, "The only secrets I've kept from you Nick are personal. They're secrets that you don't need to know because then you don't have to lie. I've never kept secrets about a case from you guys and I never would."

Nick stared hard at Grissom then at Sara, who couldn't meet his eye. His face hardened even more and he said, "Right," he turned as the door opened and Warrick came in and shook his head. Nick looked back to Grissom and said, "I'm going to see if this place has a room. When you're ready to be honest with me, let me know."

"Hey Nick," Warrick called after him but the man just kept right on going up the stairs and out of sight.

Greg stood, and looked at both Sara and Grissom, before shaking his head and following Nick's path up the stairs.

Finally it was just Brass, Warrick, Sara, and Grissom.

Brass looked around for a second and realized that Ellie was no where to be found. He saw Xander moving to one of the offices and stood to follow him to find out where his daughter had gone. He stopped for a second and looked at Grissom for a second and then nodded. Trying to communicate with that simple motion that whatever Grissom had done he was willing to believe he had his reasons.

Grissom nodded appreciatively as Brass left the room and then it was just the three of them.

Grissom looked into Warrick's light colored eyes for some time before he finally said, "You have something you want to say?"

Warrick just shrugged, "You gave me the benefit of the doubt a long time ago when anyone else would have pink slipped me right out the door."

He fell down into one of the chairs and nodded at it, letting Grissom know that it was ok to sit down and that they weren't going to fight, at least not as far as he was concerned.

It didn't slip Warrick's notice that Sara had sat down right after Grissom. Nor had it slipped his notice that Sara was deferring to him more than she usually did.

Warrick played some of the things Catherine had said through his mind, and went over the past few months himself and his eyes went wide with realization.

He shook his head at his own blindness and then chuckled softly. The laughter died before it got a chance to really start as he remembered just what had gone down the last few days.

Finally he said, "I think I've got some of it, and I can understand why Catherine's so pissed. Nick too. They both think you don't trust them, but I can see it a little differently. But Griss," he said, making sure the older man was really listening to him, "wanting to protect them doesn't make what you did, or what you're doin' right. We're more than a team, and we've got to trust one another no matter what it's about."

He turned to Sara to make sure she knew he was talking to her as well and said, "You could have come to us. We'd of been there for you. We still will. But unless we know what we're there for, we can't do anything. We've always been there for one another and if there's anything we've learned, it's that we're a Hell of a lot better together than apart. There's a list of bad guys a mile long that learned that lesson the hard way. We shouldn't have to take the hard way too in order to learn that."

He nodded his head, satisfied he'd said what needed to be said and stood up, "I don't know why, but I've got a feeling we're not as pressed for time as we were. Everyone here seems to be moving a little less hectically than we were in Vegas. Since we know they understand the dangers, apparently better than we do," the emphasis on "we" wasn't lost on Grissom but he didn't say anything, "I guess we can follow their lead. We've got time, to get things settled. I think you should use it before you lose it."

He moved away and said, "Anyway, I've been up for like three days straight, I think I'm going find one of those rooms."

Grissom and Sara were left alone after that. They stared at one another for a long time, alternating between the stairs and the door Catherine had gone out.

Finally Grissom said, "Of all the ways I thought this would go, I never thought it'd go so badly."

"We never thought about it, that's why," Sara said guiltily, "We never thought about letting the rest of the guys know. We never even considered trusting them."

"We screwed this up," Grissom said finally, summarizing what the rest of the team and even his own conscience was telling him. In trying to protect the people he cared about he'd hurt them, and he'd done it because he hadn't trusted them to make their own choices.

The one thing he could take solace in was that the damage wasn't total. They were still there, they still had a chance.

He looked at Sara and said, "Guys or Catherine?"

"I'll take the guys," Sara said, "You need to go apologize to Catherine, again. I think you should tell her about me; if you think it will help."

"Shouldn't that come from you," Grissom asked, still a little uncomfortable at revealing Sara's secret even if he did have permission.

"I'll be too busy telling the others," She said, "You do it."

Grissom nodded his head and stood. He grabbed Sara's hand before she moved away and asked, "Regrets?"

She smiled sadly and said, "Lots of them," she looked down at their hands and squeezed it before finishing, "None of them about this," and she shook their hands to emphasize what "this" was.

He matched her smile and then they moved off in their chosen directions. It was time to bring the team fully up to speed. It was time to bring their family together.


	10. Chapter 10

10. "She is the Slayer..."

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: Now we find out what's REALLY going on. I put this off as long as possible to build the suspense, hope the wait was worth it.

In the end Catherine didn't go that far at all. She had two reasons even if she didn't want to admit one of them to herself. The first was she didn't know a damn thing about L.A. and had no idea where they were. It didn't look like the worst part of town but it definitely wasn't Beverley Hills. So she stayed close to the hotel, just out of sight of the door so no one would be able to find her unless they looked hard.

The other reason was that some part of her mind told her that no matter what she wanted to believe to the contrary these people were telling her the truth. Demons, vampires, witches, monsters of all shapes and sizes were real.

Because of that fact she was reluctant to wander too far for fear that one of those monsters might get to her before she could get to safety. She'd spent most of her life moving around at night rather than the day. She grew up in a city that came alive after the sun went down. She'd always loved the night, now she wondered what was in every shadow and just how safe she really was. She wanted to hate them for doing this to her; for making her afraid of the night. But in the end she knew that it wasn't their fault, they didn't create the monsters, they were just the ones that fought them.

Her introspection was brought to an abrupt halt when she heard someone move behind her. She spun around reaching for her gun as she did but came up short when she saw Ellie Brass behind her.

"Sorry" the young woman said, "I tried to make enough noise to let you know I was here, I didn't mean to scare you. Can we talk?"

"You didn't scare me," Catherine lied even as she re-holstered her weapon and tried to calm her heart, "I was thinking and you startled me, that's all. And I don't know what we have to talk about."

"Right," Ellie said, her voice just a tad condescending and causing Catherine to bristle slightly. What did she want?

"Xander wanted me to keep an eye on you," Ellie said, as if reading the older woman's mind, "He knew you were upset and wanted to make sure you didn't wander off and get yourself into trouble."

"So he figured you could protect me," Catherine asked, angrily, "I can take care of myself," she rested her hand unconsciously on her side arm as she said it.

Ellie looked down at the gun and said, "That thing won't help you against most of the things we face."

"I saw him give those other two guns," Catherine said.

Ellie nodded, "Yeah but you probably missed some of what he said. Xander's spent more than a year trying to figure out a way to make ammunition that will work on the things we face. He just came up with something that finally worked in trials but he just tested it in the real world. Before then guns didn't work at all."

Catherine looked at her confused and Ellie elaborated, "Vampires are dead things, Catherine. They literally are walking corpses. No heartbeat, no respiration, they're only kept alive by the demonic energy that is inside them," Catherine looked skeptical but Ellie just said, "Just trust me on this."

Catherine nodded reluctantly and Ellie continued, "The only way to kill a vampire is one: cut off their heads. Two: burn them with sunlight or fire, they're highly flammable, or Three, put a stake in their heart, like this one," she pulled a wooden stake from behind her back and held it out to Catherine who took it carefully.

"You mean you actually stab then with this," she asked, amazed.

"Yeah, you have to, and you have to put it right in their heart otherwise they just get pissed off."

"But, that's murder, isn't it," she said, confused by how the woman could talk so casually about killing someone.

Ellie shook her head, "Catherine I know this is a big deal for you, it was the same for me. But one of the first things you need to learn is that vampires really, really are evil. They look like you and me but they're not. They drink people's blood and they do it because they can, because they like it. They could survive off of other types of blood but they want human blood because it tastes better, and they like hurting people. They don't follow the same rules we do, and they don't have the protection of the law, because the law is for humans, not for them."

"That seems a little cold," Catherine observed. She'd heard from Warrick before about the run-in with Brass's estranged daughter and she wondered just how far off the straight and narrow the woman has wandered in her time.

Ellie shook her head, "Not cold, pragmatic. When I first got into this one of the first things I did was help Xander clear out what's called a Nest. It's exactly what it sounds like; it's a place where vampires gather to hide their kills and to live in. They nest just like any animal. We went in and cleared it out, and that was enough to teach me exactly what they are and exactly what they deserve,"

Catherine heard the tension in the woman's voice and saw the haunted look in her eyes and asked, "What happened?"

"They were feeding on runaways," Ellie said, the memories rushing back even though it had been years, "The oldest body we had to pull out of there was seventeen, the youngest was twelve. They'd taken them off the street and fed off of them and played with them till they died and then they tossed the bodies in a corner and went and got another one. There were more than two dozen bodies there, and I'll never forget the smell."

Catherine actually shuddered at that description, and wondered what else this woman had seen and how she'd gotten involved. The last part she at least had the courage to ask and said, "How did you get involved in this anyway?"

Ellie smiled sadly and shook her head as if to banish the memories that had flooded her mind, "That's another story and one I'm sure Xander will be telling shortly, but I don't think it's fair to tell you and no one else, do you?"

Catherine shook her head at the surreal situation and said, "What can you tell me then?"

Ellie cocked her head to the side and said, "I can tell you that someone wants to talk to you, isn't that right Dr. Grissom?"

Grissom was shocked at Ellie's words. He had come out the door quietly wanting to find Catherine and had heard her voice. He'd come up quietly not intending to spy but when he heard Ellie talking he'd let his curiosity get the better of him and he'd stopped and listened. He was disgusted by what she'd described and admitted to himself that vampires just might be as bad as they all said. But he'd want to hear more about it.

Then suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by her words, he didn't even know she'd been aware of his presence.

He came forward slowly and saw Catherine's face close up. He looked at Ellie and said, "I need to talk to her," he then turned to Catherine and added, "if that's alright?"

Ellie looked at Catherine who nodded and she said, "I'll just be over there," she pointed to another part of the courtyard, "Don't go anywhere but inside, it's safer that way."

Then as if by magic Ellie faded into the darkness and was gone. Grissom couldn't even hear her move and for a moment questioned whether or not his hearing wasn't as good as he thought but a look at Catherine confirmed she was having the same problem.

Finally Grissom looked at her and asked, "Are you alright?"

She looked at him like he was crazy, "No, Gil, I'm not alright. In the last five hours I've seen another family murdered, quit my job, found out my friend has been hiding secrets from me, and last but not least, I've found out that basically fairy tales are real. So no, I'm not alright at all."

Grissom listened to her little rant and almost smiled, it was true Catherine; even as bizarre as the whole situation was she was still holding herself together despite appearances. He didn't smile though because the part about the "friend" hit home.

"I really did only find out about the magic just before the crime scene."

"I know," she said, "I could tell when you said it that you were telling the truth about that, but you've been hiding things, haven't you?"

Get let out a long sigh, "I thought it was best. Sara and I both did. We didn't know what was happening and we didn't want you involved if we didn't need to just in case it somehow blew up in our faces."

"But Gil," Catherine said, "I told you once before that people are creating families around you whether you want it or not. We're more than a team, we're more than coworkers, we're a family. That's why it hurt so much when Ecklie broke us up and that's why it was so good once we got back together. We're all each other have sometimes."

She gave him a moment to digest that then said, "But we can't help each other if we don't know what's going on. I understand you wanting to keep the thing between you and Sara quiet, if we don't know anything we can't be asked."

He noticed her stressing of the word "thing" and understood she was talking about the he and Sara being lovers. He kept his peace as she continued, "But this…whatever it is that ties in with this case, that we should have known about and if for no other reason than we're family and we have a right to know."

Grissom was patently uncomfortable with her referring to them as a family. He remembered well when she had mentioned it. It was just after Sara had turned in a request for a leave of absence because she felt he didn't respect her. It was back when he was shielding his feelings away from her completely and like a fool he'd almost lost her out of his life. They hadn't been lovers then, in fact wouldn't be for years; but to have lost her would have hurt in ways he couldn't imagine.

At the same time he understood what she was saying. You couldn't work together as long as they had and not form a familial bond. It was what made them such an effective team. It was the only reason his team worked since often his leadership skills were less than perfect. Everyone knew what everyone else's strengths were, and the complimented each other beautifully. Watching them work through a crime scene was watching a dance.

That kind of precision however came at a price for a man like him that was instinctively guarded and withdrawn. Sometimes, like now, he was truly forced to deal with what he'd created around him and sometimes it frightened him. He'd lost enough in his life; he didn't want to lose anything else.

Still, that fear is what had taken him so long to admit his feelings for Sara. Even then he wondered if he'd of ever moved forward with a relationship with her if not for her ability, her gift.

Sadly, when he was honest with himself he knew that he wouldn't have. That thought plagued him often.

Standing there, now, looking at Catherine he realized that as much as he'd been willing to take a chance with her, he was still trying to hold the rest of them at arm's length. He wasn't letting them in even though he knew he could trust them. They were the only shot at a family a man like him might get.

He nodded his head, thoughtfully and said, "You're right, I'm sorry, really I am."

Catherine nodded her head, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have reacted like that, it's just…it's been a rough couple of hours."

Grissom nodded, "I know, believe me I'm barely keeping up myself."

"I'm sorry too that I let the cat out of the bag with the guys, there's going to be questions you know."

Grissom nodded, "I know, we both do. That's why we agreed it's time to tell you guys, everything."

"Everything," Catherine asked, "or everything you think we should know?"

"Everything," Grissom said.

"Ok," Catherine said, sitting down on one of the benches sitting out in the courtyard, "tell me."

And Grissom did.

*****

Sara stood outside the door to the room that Xander had told her Warrick, Nick, and Greg had gone to. It was what at one time had been a suite in the motel and had several adjoining rooms; perfect for them.

Xander had also told her that the recent rescue had bought them some time and that but not a lot and that after Xander had had a meeting and phone conference with his people they'd do a full briefing and get them going on what they needed to do.

Sara had thanked him and then moved up to take care of the business she should have taken care of months ago.

Every time she started to raise her hand to knock, her courage fled her and she was left shaking in front of the door wondering if her friends would accept her once they knew the truth.

Grissom might call what she had a gift but some people weren't so enlightened, what if they just thought she was a freak?

Finally, knowing that all she was doing was driving herself crazy, or more crazy she knocked hard and swift and accepted that now there was no going back.

She stood there for a long moment, unsure if anyone would answer and then finally the door opened and Warrick was standing there. He looked at her for a long moment, and leaned on the door, imposing in his defensive and obstructive body language. She knew he meant what he'd said down stairs but she also knew he was upset with her too.

It took everything she had not to just turn and run. She'd faced murderers, rapists, thieves and monsters, all without blinking, and yet here she was ready to run from her own friends, how sad was that?

"Can I come in," she asked, "please?"

Warrick nodded slowly and stepped aside, allowing her to enter the room.

She looked at the other two men in the room. Nick looked at her with no small amount of anger in his face, accompanied with what looked like betrayal. Greg's face registered simple hurt, that she hadn't trusted him.

Warrick had a similar look but it was tempered at least by what he had said down stairs.

"Hi, Sara," Greg said quietly.

She smiled sadly back at him, "Hi Greg."

She remembered when Greg had tried so hard and so often to please everyone. In some ways he was still doing that, but he had grown. He was a good person and had been a good friend to her, to all of them. It made what she'd done hurt just a little bit more.

Nick had also always been there for her; tried to help her whenever he could and he'd never, ever treated her like she couldn't handle her job. A marked improvement from many of the men she'd worked with prior to going to Las Vegas at Grissom's request.

It was in that moment that she knew she was doing the right thing.

"I wanted to talk," she said gently, trying to put the right tone in her voice and hating that she was so lousy at these kinds of things.

"About what, Sara," Nick asked, none to gently, "want to try and make us understand why you and Grissom didn't trust us enough to tell us what was going on?"

"No," she said, "no I'm not going to try and do that. We did what we thought was right but what we really did we did because we were scared."

"Of what," Greg asked, far more willing to listen than either of the other two.

"Of your reaction," Sara said, starting to pace, "Of what you would think of me, of Grissom. Whether you'd accept it or think I was a freak."

"Come on Sara," Nick said, "aren't you being just a little melodramatic? I mean so you're sleeping with Grissom. I don't know how I missed it but then I just guess you guys are good liars."

"Nick," Warrick said, "come on."

"What," Nick said, turning on his friend, "are you taking their side?"

"It's not about side," Warrick said, "It's about the team, it's about us. But there's nothing we can't get over if we try. Why don't you listen to what she says before you bite her head off, again?"

Nick looked at Warrick and frowned, then sighed deeply and dropped into a chair. He looked at Greg who nodded and then to Sara and said, "So talk."

And she did, she told them everything. She told them about the dreams that had started years ago, half remembered flashes that had meant nothing at the time. Then the dreams had become more lucid, and more detailed, causing her to begin to realize that there was more to it than that.

She told them how the dreams had driven her to do things she shouldn't of; working herself to exhaustion, so she wouldn't dream, or drinking herself into oblivion so she could handle the nightmare images her brain came up with.

She told them all of it but then she hesitated before telling them the rest. How the dreams started to come true, how she began to see things from their cases; clues and insights that she couldn't chalk up to simple intuition.

She told them everything, even how it had led to her and Grissom getting together, and she finished with the Red Witch and the Pirate; two figures in her dreams that turned out to be real people, and the nightmares that apparently were real to.

When she finished she looked down at her hands and saw they were shaking. She didn't have the courage to look into their faces, afraid of what she'd find. These were the only people in the world she had a connection with. Her family was practically nonexistent. None of them had had anything to do with her in years.

All she'd ever had was her work and slowly the people she worked with that had slowly but surely wormed their way through the armor she'd placed around herself out of necessity as a kid in the system and right into her heart

They were more her family than her blood and she couldn't handle the thought of them not being there anymore.

She hadn't even realized she had tears in her eyes till Warrick handed her a handkerchief. Crying was something she hadn't done in years, but she was doing it more and more often in the last few months. She didn't know if it was because of her ability or if it was just that she'd reached the breaking point in her life of carefully constructed control.

Whatever the reason she felt strangely stronger for it, which surprised her.

Finally after many moments of silence Nick said, "I just wish you'd of told us, Sara. It's what we're here for."

"I know," she said, "I know. It's just; I've worked so hard to not need anyone that it's hard to admit it when I do. And I was scared."

"Of us," Warrick asked.

"Of your reactions," she admitted, looking back at her hands.

"Oh come on, Sara, you know better than that," he chided, "I'm a compulsive gambler that got one of my teammates killed because I was making a bet," he waved off the denial as he kept going, "Greg can't be serious if his life depended on it for more than five minutes, and it turns a lot of people off that don't know him like we do. And Nick's such a softie that he can't help but try to rescue the strays even when they're not nearly as good as he wishes they were. Hell it almost cost him his job, if you remember," Everyone did remember the time Nick had slept with a prostitute that ended up being killed later.

The eye witness that had identified Nick as being at the scene had ultimately been the killer, but still. Had he been arrested like Ecklie and the Sheriff had originally intended, he'd of been summarily dismissed from CSI with no chance of getting his job back. It had been a sobering experience for the man that had just been trying to do some good.

Warrick looked at her and said, "We're the last people to judge you, you should have known that."

"I did," she defended, "but still there was always that nagging doubt. Plus with me and Grissom…"

"Boning," Greg asked, his inappropriate humor choosing that moment to come out with her pause.

Strangely enough it actually lightened the oppressive feeling in the room and the four people actually laughed together.

Sara cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, that. We just didn't want to put you guys in an awkward position."

"You should have let us decide that," Greg said, "you really should have."

"I know that, now," Sara said, "We both do. That's why this. No more secrets, no more lies."

Nick nodded, "Good enough for me."

Sara smiled, loving how inherently good Nick was, and how forgiving the man could be. She looked at Greg and Warrick who also both nodded their heads and smiled.

It was good to have the family back together again.

*****

While the CSI team was getting themselves put back together Xander, Willow, and Dawn were in conference with the A.I. crew and Giles on a video conference phone. He'd been able to convince Captain Brass that Ellie was safe on the premises; electing not to get into her Slayerness until later. That was something he only wanted to go through once, and Ellie had agreed. It was probably a little unfair to the Captain but that's how things worked out sometimes, life wasn't always fair.

"Alright, Giles," Xander said, "I'm looking at a stack of books and papers and faxes and god knows what else so why don't you just explain it to me so I can get it through my head. And hurry, we're on a time table here."

"That is true Xander," Giles said, "however we have forty-eight hours before he can strike again and we have enough information that I truly believe we have a chance to get this situation under control by then."

"Great," Xander said, "that's what I want to hear, now let's get with the explaining."

"Very well, Xander," Giles said looking at the camera in his office directly, "Wesley, Dawn if you would,"

"Of course," they both said.

"This all actually centers around a Prophecy," Giles began, to which Xander immediately responded, "I hate those."

"Yes, well, I am in complete agreement with you often times, this one is actually one we can all support," his surrogate father responded.

"Really, that's a switch," Xander replied brightening up somewhat.

"Quite," Giles said on the monitor, "Wesley, Dawn, a little background if you please?"

"Certainly, Giles," Wesley said. He looked at his notes and said, "Please remember that much of what I am about to tell you occurred before recorded history, and was passed down through the generations as verbal history, much as the Navajo Indian tribe does."

Everyone nodded and so he began.

"More than ten-thousand years ago a group of demons decided that they were tired of the age of man. They were tired of being hunted by the Slayer and other hunters that roamed the lands and they decided that the only answer would be to end the age of man, and bring back the Old Ones."

"Holy shit," Xander said, succinctly, "they didn't go in for half measures did they?"

"Not at all," Wesley said, "They were led by a Demon that has been called in some books Sourdre."

"Never heard of him," Cordelia said, "and I've learned the names of a lot of demons in the last few years."

Wesley smiled at that, thinking about just how much Cordelia had learned, and changed over the years, then his face took on its serious countenance again and he said, "Sourdre is an old version French term from around 1490 that means to 'Rise from', the name could more commonly be translated as…"

"The Source," Willow said, nervously, "It's The Source, right?"

"Yes," Dawn said simply. No one needed to have that explained to them. Every single one of them was aware of what particular demon was capable of.

"Damn it," Xander said, cursing as he moved to the phone, "how stupid are we; sisters. Over and over again sisters we should have seen this."

"Wait a minute Xander," Wesley said, "We don't believe the Charmed Ones are in any direct danger."

"But you just said," Willow started but didn't get to finish.

"Yes, I know, but there's more to it. Trust me. Just hear us out," Wesley pleaded.

Xander seemed uncertain for a few seconds and then said, "Fine," he hung up the phone, "Talk fast Wesley."

Wesley nodded his head, "The demons plan was to combine their power and crack open the Deeper Well, and allow one of the Old Ones to escape. One that would be able to awaken the others that slept, bringing Hell back to Earth and eradicating humanity."

Dawn picked up the narrative, "Fortunately there were powerful human magic users that were aware of what was going on and they came together at a specific place and together they all joined their magic in a spell so powerful its like has never been seen since."

"What kind of spell," Angel asked.

"A binding spell, of sorts, however calling it something that simple is like calling Willow a simple witch," Wesley said, giving them some idea of how powerful the spell was.

"The numbers are a little hard to come by with any accuracy, some stories say as few as ten, others say as many as thirty but in essence these magic users combined their powers and focused them through a sacrifice, a willing sacrifice that enabled them to block the demons efforts." Dawn explained. She waited for the reaction that she knew was coming.

"Sacrifice," Willow exclaimed, "they sacrificed someone?"

"Three, actually," Giles spoke up, "Three women of untold power, sisters, as it turns out."

"Halliwell line," Fred asked certain of her deduction.

Wesley smiled, "Yes. We're not certain of the genealogy exactly. The women would have almost certainly have needed to be virgins for this spell to have worked properly and yet their line continued. We're not certain exactly how that happened and the explanation is, not only is lost in time, but irrelevant for our purposes."

Xander nodded, "So these girls sacrificed themselves and combined all that magic and stopped The Source. What's that to do with today?"

"This is where the prophecy comes into play," Giles explained as he pulled out a few loose leaf sheets of paper and started explaining, "My translation is a bit 'from the hip' as it were so I'm not going to try and translate it exactly or completely, but what I have translated says in essence that, after a 'Great Balance' a 'triad of power' shall 'seal the Well for all time.'" He looked at the camera and said, "As I said it's a bit quick but that's basically what it means. Our people here as well as Wesley and Dawn have all agreed that the 'Great Balance' is the awakening of the Slayers after we battled The First. Before then evil had a distinct advantage but we actually brought things into greater balance."

"Ok," Xander said, "So some time after the Slayers have awakened the 'Triad of Power' meaning the Charmed Ones, will do something to seal the Deeper Well forever; sounds good. What's the catch?"

"The 'catch'," Wesley said, "as it were is that a spell of this power is beyond what even the Power of Three can achieve alone. According to the prophecies they will need help. Help provided by," he looked to one of his books and read, "those of the original lines."

Xander nodded and started putting it together, "So the Charmed Ones are going to need the help of the ancestors of those that helped their ancestors; kind of like completing a circle?"

"Precisely, but it's even more complicated than that," Wesley said and turned to Dawn who picked up again, "Because of the nature of the original spell and the changes it caused in the actual fabric of magic of the world, and the interim changes that have occurred in magic over the convening millennia they have to have specific help, very specific help."

"Help from whom," Willow asked, starting to get the picture.

"I'm getting to that," Dawn said, "The help for this spell has to as closely match the Halliwell sisters as possible; that means it has to be sisters, in triads."

"Son of a bitch," Xander cursed, realizing what was happening, "Got to give them credit. It's brilliant, tactically speaking."

"Quite," Wesley and Giles said almost simultaneously.

A few of the others however didn't get it so Xander explained it, "Think about it. We know from what we've read that the Charmed Ones are ass kickers on par with us. Any demon that's gone up against them has ended up on the wrong end of a vanquishing spell and the sisters are batting a thousand, right?"

The others in the room nodded their heads.

Xander continued his explanation, "Well however long ago these sisters sacrificed themselves left a kind of, residue," he looked at Willow for confirmation and she said, "Close enough for explanation," Xander nodded his head and went on, "It left a kind of residue in the magic that they used to seal the Well. Now it will take a similar kind of magic in order to fulfill this prophecy."

"It's like currents and eddies in a river," Willow jumped in, "if you change the land the river flows over, you change the way the river flows permanently."

"Exactly," Wesley said, "these sisters performed a great act to seal the Well but in so doing they left an impression that would require similar circumstances to seal it once again. This time permanently."

Fred nodded her head in understanding, and then a look of sadness crossed her face as she realized what was happening.

"Right," Xander said, "so in order for the Charmed Ones to seal the Deeper Well for all time they need more than their usual power, according to the prophecy, right?"

Dawn nodded, "Oh yeah, the sisters are powerful, there's no doubt about that, but even they have their limits. Doing something like sealing the Well would require a tremendous amount of reserve power that they simply don't have. According to the prophecy the progeny of those that aided them before would be that reserve."

"I get it now," Cordelia said, "They can't take on the Charmed Ones to stop them so instead they're going to take away their battery."

"You got it," Xander said, "but that still doesn't explain who's doing it and it doesn't explain how they're finding these girls so fast."

The mood coming from Wesley and Giles immediately darkened at that question and Giles said, "I believe I have the answer for that."

Xander looked at Giles and felt a sudden surge of both fear at the look on Giles face, and anger at whoever had caused it.

"At the time these sisters stopped the demons from opening the Well the precursor of the Watchers had already been formed," Giles explained as he sat down at his desk, "Many of the magic users that had assisted joined in a desire to help protect humanity. They were the most powerful mages and scholars of their day; however they still suffered a common flaw,"

"They didn't respect the contribution of women," Wesley said, "even though the Watchers were responsible for an amazing woman, the Slayer, women by and large were looked down upon as a weaker sex, and one that needed to be 'protected' which is really another word for controlled."

Yes," Rupert agreed, some of the anger on his face fading, "As the decades and centuries passed the Watchers became more and more obsessed with control, especially with controlling women with any sort of power. It wasn't just potential Slayers that they sought out and took in but it was female magic users as well. They felt and, until the old Council blew up, still felt that women with power were not to be trusted without a firm hold by men."

"Sounds pretty sexist if you ask me," Cordelia said, "What was their deal."

"For most on the Council," Giles explained, "it really was all about control, singling women out was merely an excuse. They exercised control over men as well, just not with benefit of an official policy for it. However at the time of the creation of these policies it was only women that weren't specifically trusted, men were expected to be powerful."

"However," Wesley picked up, "some on the Council were border line Misogynists, and that's what's led to our current situation."

Xander shook his head and said, "Just get to the point you two, I know the old Council was a bunch of mule headed, ancient thinking idiots, I don't blame either one of you for that and neither does anyone else. You've changed the Council, and for the better."

"Yes, well apparently someone didn't think so," Giles said. He cleaned his glasses quickly and then replaced them before explaining, "The Council made lists, Xander. Old lists that tracked the magic users that helped seal the Well, in particular, and any other magic users they became aware of in general. Their lists especially concentrated on the women and these lists were made as detailed as possible just in case."

"In case of what Giles," Xander asked, "come on just drop the other shoe damn it."

"In case the Council ever determined that a female magic user was 'out of control' so they could hunt them down and exterminate them," Giles stated matter-of-factly, staring directly into the camera as he did so.

There was silence in the conference room as everyone considered that, then a few gasps from some of the others as they realized what Giles wasn't saying but at the same time obviously was.

"Are you telling me," Xander said, his voice like ice, and everyone feeling an unconscious need to move slightly away from him, all but Willow who sat there supporting her friend, "that Travers and those other bastards had what amounts to an assassination list made up for witches that didn't toe their line?"

"That is precisely what I am telling you, Xander" Giles said, "And apparently someone within our ranks has decided to implement that list and has given it to someone who is now using it to stop this prophecy."

"Who," Angel asked, nearly as pissed off as Xander was. The three Furies were nice women that had helped him on more than one occasion. All they did was try to help others with their protection spells. To think that one of those bastards that had tried to get Buffy killed on her eighteenth birthday were responsible for all these dead families had him practically seething with murderous hate. He looked around the room and saw similar looks on everyone else's face now that they knew the full extent of what was going on.

"I don't know," Giles said, then Ripper came out for a quick peek as he said, "But I will find out, of that I can assure you."

Xander was almost inclined to feel sorry for someone, almost. Images of the two families that had died flashing through his mind quickly put an end to that compassion.

Then another, horrifying thought entered his mind and he asked, "How many are dead because of this?"

Giles actually looked even more saddened as he said, "The spell that you and Wesley figured out was even further reaching than we realized, if it wasn't for you two we'd of never realized what was going on until it was far too late."

"How many, Giles," Willow asked, her own magic seething under the surface and she felt 'Darth Willow' pounding at the cage that she had long ago imprisoned her in. Willow had touched the darkness and turned away from it, but even she sometimes felt the urge to let loose, this was definitely one of those times.

"According to what we've been able to find out since the spell's clearing," Giles said, "is that according to contacts we have in Interpol and law enforcement agencies throughout the world, so far nearly a dozen families from Europe, Africa and the Americas have been attacked in a similar fashion: Two here in England, one in Turkey, five in varying parts of Africa, one in Florida, and one in Ohio, and the two in Las Vegas. The attack on the Furies would have made it an even dozen."

There was absolute silence as everyone listened to that figure, and realized just how truly horrifying that was.

"They're just moving around the world taking them out one at a time," Fred said.

"And collecting the magic of these people as they do it," Willow said.

Giles nodded, "They most certainly plan to use the collected magic to accomplish what the original demon group failed at. They'll use it to open the Deeper Well and bring back the Old Ones."

"But why did they go for the Furies," Fred asked, "They're not sisters."

"Actually they are," Angel said, knowing the women better than anyone else there, "They have different fathers but the same mother, they definitely are sisters."

Xander turned to the camera and said, "I want that list Giles, I want to get ahead of this."

Giles nodded, "Wesley's already received it and I took the liberty of sending some of our contractors to watch over the families in the area. If anything happens you'll be notified."

"Who," Xander asked, not sure he'd like the answer. Although he understood the need to get outside help form time to time, 'outside contractor' sounded too much like 'mercenary' for his taste. These weren't the type of people he liked to trust, especially when it came to Apocalypses. He didn't know if that was him on his own, or the soldier's influence not trusting people that hadn't sworn they're loyalty as he had to god and country. Either way it didn't matter. He didn't trust mercs.

"Varying groups depending on location," Giles answered, aware of Xander's aversion to mercenaries but knowing full well that desperate times called for desperate measures, and they were definitely desperate right now. Whatever had organized this had been very smart, very careful, and very, very patient. Not attributes he liked to see in his enemies. "There are still several families that fit the particular target criteria, so I'm using anyone that I think we can trust to guard them."

Xander thought about it then finally nodded and said, "I get it Giles, I get it. Now one final thing, does anyone know why the description of this guy is the same as Jack the Ripper?"

"You have Quentin's grandfather to thank for that," Wesley said.

Xander turned his attention to him and Wesley explained, "Mary Jane Kelly, Jack the Ripper's last victim was on the Council's list. She'd abused her powers at a young age and they were bound as punishment. I had one of the researchers pull out the records and her original 'crime' had been 'using her power against her guardian in a malicious fashion'. Further research uncovered a small note from one of the investigators that was buried and not used when they made their decision to bind her powers. Mary had been accosted by her Council guardian at fifteen. She was a very attractive girl by all accounts and she used her power to stop him from assaulting her. He of course accused her of trying to kill him and, because he came from one of the most influential families in the Council her accusations fell on deaf ears. They stripped her power and forbid her family from assisting her, threatening to ruin them if they tried. She ended up working as a prostitute in order to survive and when the Council learned of this the leadership, and in particular Travers' grandfather feared the girl would become pregnant, and if she had a child sensitive to magic…"

"She'd have access to magic again," Willow observed.

"And a strong motive for going after the Council," Cordelia added.

"Precisely," Wesley said, "so Reginald Travers had her targeted. Jack the Ripper was in fact a man born of a demonic and human union. His father was a demon his mother was human, apparently attacked by the demon and left pregnant. TAs a result of this combination he stopped aging when he reached adulthood, he is incredibly strong, and what makes him so useful to the Council is that the particular species of demon that impregnated his mother is completely immune to magical attack. And he absolutely hates women because he blames his mother for his birth, for making him a monster."

Angel snorted, "He did that all on his own."

"Yes, he did," Giles said, "However I had been led to believe from Council records that this individual was out of commission at the end of World War II, apparently the reports of his death were inaccurate."

"Or someone lied," Xander said.

Everyone nodded at that, finding the possibility highly probable.

"Quentin's father was in charge of the Council at the time and he was known to be an even more heartless man than his father. I've no doubt that he would want someone like 'Jack' in his employ."

"I didn't sense anything demonic about him," Angel said, "Are you sure it's him?"

"Quite certain," Giles said, "The reason you didn't sense anything demonic is that for a time they considered using Jack against Slayers that had gone Rogue. In order to prevent the Slayer from being able to sense him before he could get close enough to attack he was given a charm to wear around his neck that suppresses the demonic essence thus making him impossible to sense."

Xander snorted, "They really did think of everything for their weapon, didn't they?"

"I'm afraid they did," Giles said, "This individual is incredibly intelligent, and absolutely single-minded in his desire to destroy women."

"Remind me to piss on Travers' grave the next time I'm in England," Xander said to Willow, and then asked, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Cordelia said, "There's one more thing I'm not clear on," She said holding up one of the pictures from England, showing the dead family, including the parents. Everyone turned to her and she said, "This guy is like uber-messy, right? He likes to play with his victims before he kills them, right?"

Everyone nodded and she asked, "So if he kills the girls, who kills everyone else? I mean, I can't see someone that messy being that neat."

Her question was met with dead silence and suddenly Wesley said, "We are fools."

Dawn was on the move immediately, "Dr. Grissom brought all the information from the murders, including information on the wounds on the parents, maybe we can figure out what's killing the parents and track them that way."

She pulled open the travel case holding the files that had accompanied them from Vegas and found what she was looking for. She took the file to the desk and opened it pulling out the photos and notes on the wounds.

Xander looked at Giles and said, "I'll fax you what we have so you can get the people there working on this too."

Giles nodded and said, "I'll get research together immediately," he disconnected the conference call at that and Xander turned to Willow, "Maybe we got him."

"I hope so," Willow said, "in the meantime we should probably call the Charmed Ones, let them know what's going on, and who's probably involved."

Xander nodded, "I'll handle that unless you'd like to?"

Willow shook her head and held up her hands, "No thank you, Halliwell judgment is something I can do without today, thank you."

With that she turned and headed over to Dawn to help her with her research leaving Xander to shake his head. It was a sad fact that Willow and the Charmed Ones just didn't get along. The middle sister, "Phoebe" was ok, but the other two were exceptionally stubborn about their interpretation of right and wrong. Consequently they weren't very nice to Willow when they'd first met because she'd been evil and tried to destroy the world. Xander secretly suspected that it had a lot to do with good old fashioned rivalry. Willow was incredibly powerful and in fact, could do things that they couldn't individually and that bred conflict. She was also comfortable with her magic than the sisters were even after years of being witches. Either way getting them together was something you didn't do unless it was an emergency, unfortunately this qualified.

*****

Phoebe Halliwell, one third of the magical powerhouse known as "The Charmed Ones" came down the stairs looking for a late evening snack. Her sisters, Paige and Piper were up in the attic, looking at the Book of Shadows, trying to determine what the latest rumblings from the Underworld would mean to them. Phoebe's boyfriend, Cole, also known as the Demon Balthazar had been down below a few hours ago and had heard that whatever was going on, was big.

She shrugged her shoulders to herself and figured whatever it was, they could handle it. They really didn't have much choice in the matter, after all.

The phone ringing pulled her from her thoughts and she went to answer it.

"Hello, Halliwell residence," she said, nervously, in her experience phone calls this late were never good.

"Piper," the slightly familiar voice said uncertainly.

"No Phoebe, who is this," she asked guardedly.

"Hi, Phoebe," the voice said more confidently, "it's Xander Harris."

Immediately the image of the man she was speaking to formed in her mind. He was a funny character, strong body, as well as spirit. With an essence that she would have been able to feel even if she hadn't been magically sensitive. He had a smiling eye that was offset by the eye patch he wore over his left eye. A result of a battle with an entity his group had called "The First Evil". To the three sisters it had sounded eerily similar to "The Source" but they had been assured by Rupert Giles, another member of The Council that they were not the same. Even though they had read in their grandma's notes that The Council was not to be trusted, ever they had been inclined to believe him at the time given the description.

Another point in The Council's favor, or the New Council as they insisted on calling it was that the old ways of doing things had, as Xander had so eloquently put it, "Gone the way of the dodo with the rest of the stuffed shirted, blue blooded assholes that used to run the Council". Judging by the passion in his voice and in his eye at the time she'd truly believed him at the time when he told her exactly how the Council had changed.

Piper and Paige had been a little less trusting, even with Leo giving them the a-ok that Xander was on the level.

Her older and younger sister had a serious problem with one of the Council's members, Willow Rosenberg, and the fact that she'd tried to destroy the world.

Phoebe on the other hand was a little more pragmatic. Of course falling in love with a demon, having said demon become The Source, and she his queen, before banishing him only to have him return from Hell even more powerful than when it all started and begging her to take him back might have something to do with it…..glass houses and all that.

Still she was a Halliwell first and she'd stood by her sisters even if she hadn't agreed with them at the time when they'd told Xander and his people that they wanted nothing to do with them unless it was an Apocalypse.

Xander had promised to honor their wishes, which meant either he wasn't a man of his word, which she seriously doubted, or she was seriously not going to like this call.

*****

Jim had watched Ellie come in from outside and realized now was the chance, possibly the only chance to talk to her. He walked up and grabbed her arm and spun her around, "What the hell is going on here, Ellie?"

"Xander will explain when he knows dad, I promise. He's not one to keep secrets," she said, pulling herself out of his grip carefully.

"I don't mean that," Brass said, anger coloring his words, "I'm talking about you with them. How did that happen? How did you get involved with this?"

"I just got lucky," she said, smiling, but realizing that it wasn't going to work on her father. He was pissed, feeling slightly betrayed she was sure, and she didn't like how that made her feel. She knew that this moment was going to come but now that it was here she wasn't sure she was ready for it. Worse, she wasn't sure he was ready for it.

She sighed and said, "Let's see if Xander and your friends are ready."

"What," he asked, confused, "why?"

"Because I don't want to have to explain this more than once and Xander's better at it than I am," she said tiredly.

"What's so hard about telling me the truth," he asked, "Can't you just do that?"

"I can," she said, slightly hurt by his words and tone, "but the truth isn't going to do you any good if you have no idea what it means."

"I'll be the judge of that," Brass said, "I'm a pretty smart guy."

"Fine," she said, "I'm a Slayer."

She turned and started walking away from him and he reached out to grab her again. Faster than he could see he suddenly found his hand twisted up behind him in a move right out of the academy and completely at his daughter's mercy. She released him instantly and took a step back as he spun around, wonder and just a little fear in his eyes.

She didn't give him a chance to speak and said, "Like I said, it's complicated. Now I'm going to get Xander, and you get your friends and come back to the lobby and Xander will tell you everything you never wanted to know about your little girl."

As she walked away Brass wondered about the way she'd emphasized 'your' and wondered just what she'd meant.

*****

It took only a few minutes to get the CSI gang back into the lobby. Xander could tell that the group as a whole was much better off than they'd been earlier. Old angers and new ones had been fresh and boiling over then. Now the entire team seemed more at peace as a whole and with one another. Willow had been right, as usual. Giving it to them all at once would have been a disaster. Better to give them the story in pieces. He stood there, studying them as they talked softly amongst themselves and then looked over at Ellie.

He'd asked her if she was comfortable with basically making an exhibit of herself for them but she explained that these people were going to be here a while and they would most likely see something as observant as they were. Better they know what they're seeing if it's something she's doing than coming to the wrong conclusion.

Xander couldn't disagree with her.

He cleared his throat, "How are you all doing, better?"

Heads nodded up and down and he said, "Good, ok. Now that you've had a little time to absorb the 'monsters are real' reality now we get to the fighting back part."

"Meaning," Grissom asked.

"Meaning," Xander said, "that as long as there have been demons and vampires there has been the Slayer."

"Ellie said that," Brass said, looking up at his daughter, "what does that mean exactly."

"It means that she's what stands between you people and the monsters looking to eat you for a snack," a voice said from behind them, they all turned to see the man, Angel, coming down the stairs.

"How are they," Xander asked, concern clear in his voice.

"They're fine," he said, "resting. Now that the junk is out of their systems thanks to Willow they should be fine."

Xander nodded and turned his attention back to the Vegas crew, "Anyway, like Angel said a Slayer is a girl, or in this case, woman, that's destined to fight demons and vampires."

"What," Catherine said, looking at how small Ellie was and how small she was and said, "What's she supposed to do against a vampire? You said they were stronger than humans, faster too."

Brass recalled that himself, and then thought back to the move Ellie had pulled on him earlier, and the incident on the plane. A seed of doubt began to grow in his mind.

"That's right," Xander said, "they average about three to four times faster and stronger than ordinary humans. So the Slayer was made to be able to match and even exceed them."

"How," Nick asked, not seeing how it was possible.

Grissom looked from Nick to Xander and wondered what the answer would be. He was also having a hard time seeing what Xander was claiming. Of course having never actually seen a vampire to study he wasn't sure of anything at this point.

"The explanation," Xander said, "is long and not at all pretty so I'll just give you the gist. Again anyone that wants the full story can get it when this thing is handled."

He looked at them all for nods of confirmation and once he had them went on, "Like we told you before, magic is real and has been around as long as humans have been, and even before that. Humans long ago knew they couldn't fight vampires and demons on equal footing so several of them got together, and created the first Slayer."

"What that is," he said, before anyone could ask again, "or rather was, was a girl from one of the local tribes of people; a child really, an innocent. She was taken by these men and chained within a cave that held great power and within it the performed a special magical ceremony, offering up the girl's innocence and purity in exchange for something to protect them from the monsters that hunted them."

"That's barbaric," Warrick said, trying but failing to imagine the horror for that girl so long ago. Still, it pulled at his conscience to even consider it.

"You're right, it is," said Xander, "But they were desperate and it was a barbaric time. The Powers accepted their offer and they took a small essence of the demonic power that tainted the land and they placed it, violently, inside the girl; changing her forever. The essence created within her the ability to face the monsters on equal footing. Speed, strength, stamina, weapons ability, healing, tracking, all of these were now hers. The cost for them was her innocence and the innocence of every girl Chosen after her."

"What do you mean, 'Chosen'", Grissom asked, clearly hearing the quotes and capitol letters in that word.

"Simple," Xander continued, "they created a system, one that has stretched on to about three years ago. That system was when one Slayer died, another girl somewhere in the world, was given the power to take up the fight."

"Another girl," Greg asked, revolted by the idea.

"Yes, another girl. You have to remember that in those days by the time a girl had reached twelve or thirteen half her life was over with already. They didn't view the girl the same way we do. I'm not defending what they did, believe me, I'm not, I'm just explaining it."

"The way it worked," Xander said, knowing this wasn't going to go over well at all, "just so you know, is that the average Slayer was Chosen around fourteen or fifteen. She lasted, on average about twelve to eighteen months. Then the cycle started all over again."

He counted to three waiting for the explosion and wasn't disappointed, "My God", Catherine said, rage clear in her voice and on her face, "they're just children. You take children and send them against monsters?"

Xander nodded, "There's nothing we can do to change that, Catherine. The system was established long before any of us was born and will continue long after we're all gone."

"But it has changed," Sara said, speaking for the first time, "you made a point of emphasizing something about three years ago. It changed then, didn't it?"

Xander smiled at her sadly and said, "Yeah, it did. We changed it at least we did a little."

He sighed heavily and said, "We were up against something that none of us knew how to defeat. It was stronger than us, it was more evil than anything we'd ever faced and it was old, real old. It wanted nothing more than to wipe out humanity and it was in position to do exactly that."

"Its path to our destruction," Xander went on, "required that it get rid of the Slayers first, because they were in its way. So it sent its agents throughout the world to kill all the girls in the world that someday could have been made Slayers. We called them Potentials, and there were, nearly a thousand of them at one time. The thing we were fighting, it's called the First, as in First Evil, was successful in wiping out nearly half of that number."

There was a collective sound of revulsion at that but Xander ignored it, intent on getting this out before he lost his nerve. He crossed his arms over his chest and started pacing, sending Willow a small smile as he did, "We were stuck and we knew it. So we came up with the only plan we could think of. We didn't think it all the way through, but it was all we could come up with."

He took a deep breath and prepared for the fallout as he said, "Willow used her magic and in one fell swoop turned every girl and woman in the world that could be a Slayer into a Slayer. In one moment we went from more than five hundred Potential targets to more than five hundred Slayers, gifted with the power to fight. We had an army."

"Who gave you the right to do that," Brass said, putting everything together and understanding what was being said. These bastards had turned his little girl into this Slayer without even asking her if it was what she wanted. Not just her, but hundreds of little girls around the world. They'd stolen their innocence, and their childhood.

Brass couldn't stop himself as he stormed from his chair and piled hard into Xander cracking him across the chin as he did.

"Jim," Grissom shouted as he saw his friend's reaction. He started to move forward to stop him from doing something he'd regret, or worse, something he wouldn't.

Xander went down in a pile of limbs with Brass standing over him, seething in rage.

Grissom and the others stood there in frozen shock. They'd all, at one time or another, been victims of Brass's sarcasm and condescension, and sometimes even outright hostility, but none of them had ever seen him lose his cool before. None of them had ever seen him like this. Then again none of them had seen him the day he pulled a weapon on a man that was talking ill about his daughter.

Everyone had a knee jerk reaction to something; that one thing that had them exploding like someone or something possessed.

For Jim Brass that one thing was his daughter Ellie. No one messed with her, ever.

Brass might have gone for Xander again but suddenly he found himself grabbed from behind by his belt and yanked backwards, violently. He was spun about an axis he had no control over and suddenly found himself airborne and landing in a heap on the large round couch nearly fifteen feet away.

His friends were all taking turns looking from him laying there trying to regain his wits about himself and his daughter who was standing over Xander in a protective stance daring anyone with her eyes to try and get to Xander through her. Her very being radiated a kind of primal, animalistic sensation that had nearly everyone in the room backing away unconsciously in fear.

Finally, after a few tense moments Angel said, "And that, my friends is a Slayer. Here endeth the lesson."


	11. Chapter 11

11. Revelations II: Worst Case Scenario

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate everyone's response. I hope you enjoy this.

The Halliwell sisters arrived in a shower of light and a shimmer; the sparkle courtesy of Paige and the shimmer courtesy of Cole, who insisted on coming with the three sisters to make sure they were safe. Of course neither Paige nor Piper trusted the demon, but it was an old argument that they knew they'd never win with their sisters so they'd long ago stopped trying. Everything Cole had put them through and it seemed to have only strengthened Phoebe's resolve to make a relationship with him work.

To be fair both sisters had to give him credit for trying, but neither thought that he could deny his nature for long; once a demon always a demon.

Those thoughts however were quickly put aside as they took in their surroundings and Piper asked, "Phoebe, are you sure this is the place?"

"Yes," phoebe said, exasperated with her older sisters constant questioning. They'd been arguing about this ever since Phoebe had gotten Xander's phone call.

****FLASHBACK****

"What's going on, Xander," Phoebe asked, "why are you calling?"

She heard him sigh on the other end and he said, "We have a problem, like an end of the world problem."

"What's happened," Phoebe asked concern clear in her voice.

As she listened to Xander's outline of the situation and what was happening she couldn't help but feel anger well up at Xander and his friends, "How could you let this happen," she asked angrily.

"Not the time for accusations or questions like that," Xander said heatedly. "Are you and your sisters going to help or not?"

Phoebe took a breath and momentarily felt guilty for her outburst. It was more along the lines of something Paige or Piper would ask, not her; she should know better. She thought about apologizing but then realized it was something she should do in person. So instead she said, "We'll be there as soon as we can."

Xander thanked her and hung up. She thought about what he'd said and one thing rung clear, the Source was back and they needed to go and help. She turned towards the stairs of the manor and yelled for her sisters and her fiancé; they had a demon to vanquish

****END FLASHBACK****

Piper looked around the courtyard and said, "I don't like it."

"You said that already," Phoebe said, just able to hear Cole under his breath say "Several times."

"We can't trust them," Piper went on as If she hadn't heard her sister, "you read what Gram wrote in the Book of Shadows, and what several of our other ancestors wrote before her. The Watchers cannot be trusted."

"Piper," Phoebe said, exasperated at her sister's attitude, "that was the Council before Xander and his friends took over. Weren't you listening when he told us what they had gone through? It's like you weren't even there."

"We only have their word," Paige said, getting into the conversation, "How do we really know that they were telling us the truth?"

Phoebe sighed dejectedly and looked helplessly at Cole. Sometimes her older sister could be so stubborn. It wasn't like Gram never made mistakes yet on this one issue she was acting like Gram was incapable of being wrong. It was frustrating.

Of course she knew that the real reason was that she didn't like Willow Rosenberg. It was a feeling Phoebe could understand, after all, the red-headed witch made her uncomfortable too. That much power was too much for one person to have.

Still there was nothing they could do bar trying to bind her powers and it had been made pretty clear that any efforts to do that would probably fail as well. Willow Rosenberg was connected directly to the Earth itself; drawing power from it as if it was a battery. Willow could be cut off from that power for short periods of time but to completely sever it would result most likely in either her death, or a cataclysmic back feed of power that would take out a large chunk of whatever continent she happened to be on at the time.

Notwithstanding was the none too subtle warnings the witches had gotten from Xander at the time that any attempts to hurt his friend would not go over very well with him or the Slayers in general. Even the Charmed Ones weren't stupid enough to think they could take on a world full of Slayers and come out on top. That virtual line in the sand ultimatum had been what really put Piper's teeth on edge. She liked to think she knew what was right all the time even when she didn't.

It was an attitude Phoebe had learned to just ignore when it got to tiresome but Xander didn't have that kind of experience and so the entire meeting between him and the sisters had gone from bad to worse.

It was sad in Phoebe's opinion because listening to some of the experiences that he and his friends had gone through had shown Phoebe that she and her sisters weren't alone in their fight. She just wished Piper could see that.

Of course Paige was no help since she tended to be as narrow minded as Piper was at times. Neither one of them had the experiences with the dark side of the world and life that Phoebe did, they'd never had a real wild time as they were growing up so neither one of them saw the grey that was out there which made things worse.

Finally, Cole, seeing Phoebe's discomfort finally decided it was time to speak up, "You know Piper, I really don't understand how you can throw an opportunity like this away so carelessly."

"What opportunity," she asked, her voice cold. Although she had learned to accept Cole's presence she still never trusted him. He was half demon, and that was all there was to it in her mind.

Cole knew this and knew that even if he was right she'd still not listen but he was going to try anyways, "These people are offering to help you. They've been involved with the same struggle that you are and have been doing it since they were kids. They're on the side of light; even Leo's said so. Maybe it's time to think for yourself and stop letting your grandmother think for you."

'Ouch,' thought Phoebe, 'that's not going to go over well at all.'

She was right as her sister's face went red, "What the hell are you talking about," she demanded angrily.

Cold just ignored her anger knowing it for the bluster it was. He'd long since stopped worrying about pissing her off and getting blown up for it.

"You're basing your entire image of these people on something your grandmother wrote about the people that used to run their organization. The problem is those people are gone and Xander and his people don't work that way and you know it, Leo's said as much. You're judging these people on things they haven't done and things they aren't responsible for. Considering how much you hate being judged I never thought you were one for hypocrisy."

If possible Piper's face went even redder and Paige stepped in before things really got out of hand and said, "How do you know so much about them," she asked Cole.

"Simple," he shrugged, "I've killed a Slayer or two in my time."

He made the comment simply, his face betraying some of the sorrow he always felt when discussing his actions as Balthazar. "They're tough kids given a bum rap and treated like little more than property by the old establishment, but from what I've heard the last couple of years things really have gotten better for them."

"You think its better that they basically drafted girls all over the world to fight vampires," Piper asked amazed and horrified.

Cole shook his head, "No, but then those girls were involved in this fight long before they were all made Slayers, they just didn't know it. They were made Potentials by the Powers and nothing could change that. At least now they have a fighting chance to survive rather than wait for the next demon to decide that the best way of getting rid of the Slayers is to wipe out all the girls that might become one," he looked at Piper hard and said, "Don't you agree?"

Piper didn't get the chance to answer as the door to the hotel was opened and someone came out into the courtyard. The sisters immediately recognized it as Xander Harris and he said, "Are you guys going to come in or what?"

"Just having a little family discussion," Phoebe said, trying to be diplomatic.

"I'm sure," Xander said, dryly, having easily heard everything that had been said since the arrival of the four people in the courtyard. He wasn't in the mood for bickering right now and had decided he was going to handle any and all attitude before it started rather than wait for it to blow up in their faces.

He looked directly at Piper and said, "You don't like us, fine I get that. But what you really don't like is the old Council not the new one. I explained that once before and you basically blew me off. That's fine. But we've got a situation right now and it involves you so that's why I called. We would like your help and trust me on this one you're going to need ours. But if you can't swallow your pride, attitude or whatever else is crawled up your ass, then do us all a favor a twinkle on out of here right now and we'll take care of your mess for you."

"How dare you," Piper practically screamed. She didn't get the chance to finish as there was another twinkle of light signaling Leo's arrival.

As soon as he solidified he said, "Piper, enough."

"Leo," she asked, confused. Leo had been on her side when she'd last checked, and couldn't understand the reproving tone in his voice.

"Xander's right," he said, explaining himself in the soft tones he used when he knew his wife was really agitated. "There's a lot going on here and we're needed. But we can't accomplish what needs to happen if you're carrying around unwarranted animosity that you don't need."

He looked at Xander and nodded his head before continuing, "The Elders know all about this, and about Xander and his friends and they told me to tell you to basically, knock it off."

He looked slightly sheepish at this last part but it was verbatim what one of the Elders had told him and he figured if an Elder was talking like that then it was pretty important.

His words, tone, and message seemed to have the desired effect as Piper's shoulders slumped in defeat, "Fine," she said petulantly.

Leo nodded approvingly. Sometimes his wife forgot that as much as he loved her he was still her Whitelighter first and sometimes that meant going up against her. He just hoped he'd get a chance to explain things to her and he could make her understand. She was a caring and forgiving person by nature usually, but when it came to things that could really threaten her family she forgot who she was sometimes.

Xander and especially his friend Willow definitely fit the bill of a threat and he needed to make her understand, really understand that they were all on the same side. It was imperative if they were going to defeat The Source's plans once again.

*****

After several minutes everyone headed back inside the Hyperion to join everyone in explaining exactly what was going on.

As they explained Xander noticed that the Halliwell sisters were growing increasingly more agitated with every passing moment. In addition more than a few hostile stares were passed from them to Willow and back and Xander knew that they were going to have to do something about that before they could do anything else.

He turned to them and said, "We've got some research material in the office and some data on the prophecy, we thought you might like to look at it and help us decide what our next move should be."

The three sisters seemed to hold a silent conversation before agreeing and moving into the office where Wesley and the others were working.

As they left Xander said, "I think we might want to split up," he turned to Grissom and said, "You've got a crime scene and victims to work on. Anything you can get for us would help us a great deal."

Grissom nodded and said, "Warrick, Catherine, Greg, you're with me," the three nodded and went to grab their equipment. He turned to Sara and Nick and said, "You two process the sisters; Clothes, fibers, hair samples, everything."

They both nodded and also moved to comply. Grissom turned to Xander and said, "We're going to need a lab to process the evidence."

Xander nodded, "Not a problem. We've done a lot of business here in L.A. so we can get access to a fully functional lab so no problem. I'll make a few phone calls and get you an escort to the crime scene and they'll take you to the lab when you're ready."

Grissom nodded and moved to gather his own equipment.

After he was out of the room Xander turned to Angel and said, "They need someone with them."

Angel nodded and said, "I'll send Gunn and Kate. They'll make sure they're safe."

Xander nodded his agreement, "I'll make sure the people with them know to stay on guard."

Brass was sitting listening, still trying to recover from what he had heard and what his daughter had done and asked, "Why are you sending your people with them? Grissom's not going to like that."

Xander turned to him and said, "Because, Captain we don't know if whoever is responsible for this might decide to come back to the scene. That's what happened to Sara and me once and I'd like to be prepared in case it happens again; hence the escort."

Brass considered that for a moment then said, "I've got an old friend on the force here in L.A., and she might be willing to help us out."

Xander nodded, "We might be able to use her help. Can you trust her?"

"Without a doubt," Brass said, "We go back a long way. The problem is I'm not so sure I can trust you."

Xander considered that and said, "I think I can understand that Captain. We've been less than honest with you from the beginning, but you need to understand. The things we deal with aren't for most people. We have to try to protect them without exposing them and sometimes we don't do as well as we'd like. This is one of those times," he took a deep breath and let it out in frustration before he said, "I know you think your daughter got a bum deal, and in some ways she did. But on the other hand Ellie's got friends and people that care about her and will always be there for her. We're not the bad guys here and the sooner you realize that the sooner you're going to be able to help her."

Brass seemed to think about it for a second or two then nodded and moved off as he pulled out his cell phone, Ellie watching him the entire time.

*****

In the conference room Leo, Cole and the Halliwell sisters were being brought up to date by Wesley, Cordelia, and Fred. To say that the sisters were pissed at what they were discovering was an understatement. As soon as Xander stepped into the room Piper pinned him with her gaze.

"How long have you known about this?"

"About the Council having a list of witches so they could eliminate the ones they thought were untrustworthy; a couple of hours. About the Prophecy that involves you three," he indicated the sisters, "about the same time. That the old Council was a bunch of controlling bastards that should have been taken out a long time ago? I've known that for years."

Piper seemed shocked by the answer and Xander again took advantage to say, "Piper, I can understand your grandmother's discomfort with the Council, I really can. Before they got blown up they were a cause of some serious problems in my home town, almost got me and my friends killed a few times with their bumbling and plots. But they're gone now and we're here and were trying to make the Council into something to be proud of. I think we're doing a damn good job too, despite the setbacks we've had."

"But there's someone out there killing witches now with a list your Council made," Paige accused.

"No, a list the old Council made. If we'd known about that list we'd of destroyed it," Willow said.

"Right," Piper said, "like we could trust you."

"All right," Xander said, his temper finally snapping, "That is it."

He stalked up to the three Halliwell sisters and said, "I'm sick of your attitude. Your own husband told you to chill and yet you continue to give us this condescending attitude and I'm tired of it. Face it, you need us and we need you, so unless you're looking forward to The Source and whoever else he's working with beating us I suggest you get over it here and now because quite frankly I'm about three seconds from busting your ass."

Piper opened her mouth to retort back but Leo beat her to it, "Piper I told you enough. Now please, be quiet."

Piper looked at him shocked and said, "Why are you taking his side?"

Leo looked at her disappointedly and said, "It's not about taking his side it's about who's right and who's wrong, and even though I love you that doesn't mean I'm going to side with you when you're wrong, especially when the stakes are this high."

He looked at Xander and then back at Piper and said, "The Elders know everything they've done, Piper, all of them. And even though they're were very uncertain about her," he indicated Willow, "she's proven on more than one occasion over the years that she's got control of her power and the darkness inside of her."

"But isn't the fact she's got darkness enough to make them think that maybe she shouldn't have that much power to begin with," Paige asked.

Willow took serious offense to being talked about like she wasn't there and opened her mouth to say something but stopped at Xander's slight shake of his head. Willow knew that Xander wasn't one to let her be insulted so callously so that must mean he was seeing something that she wasn't so she decided to follow his lead, for now.

"Everyone's got darkness in them, Paige," Leo answered, "its how they deal with it that's a testament to who they are as a person. Willow slipped, she was in pain and had made a lot of bad decisions but she was trying to do better; and she was making a lot of headway."

"We've all seen what happens to people with too much power," Piper said, "they always fall eventually."

"That's right," Leo responded, "and Willow's already fallen and gotten back up again. She's the first person to have that much power and come back from it, come back from the dark to the light. She deserves recognition for that accomplishment, not your distrust, and not your criticism."

He shook his head, "I know Grams put a lot of distrust in you three about witches not born into their power but those were her prejudices, not truth. It's time for you three to grow up and let that go. Like it or not Willow, Xander, and the rest of his friends are responsible for saving the world at least as many times as you are, and they've been doing it since they were kids. At least you guys didn't get involved in it till you were adults. Don't you think it's time to started acting like it?"

Piper looked hurt by her husband's words and more than a little guilty. Xander took that as a good sign and said, "We're not here to hurt you, we really aren't, Piper. We want exactly what you want, to do the right thing whenever possible and to make sure the world keeps turning. I know we've made mistakes in the past but we're only human. I can't tell you we'll never make mistakes again, because that would be a lie. What I can tell you is that you can trust us with your lives because we'll protect them with ours."

Piper looked hard into the one-eyed gaze and saw not a bit of uncertainty. He meant exactly what he was saying and for the first time she truly realized just how much like her own husband Xander Harris was. He was a man of character and strength and a man that loved his family. In the end how could she take issue with someone like that? Slowly she nodded her head and said, "Ok, I'm sorry."

"Well it's about time," Phoebe said, drawing looks from both her sisters. She waved them off and said, "Oh please, I've thought you guys were being unreasonable for a while now. I was going to say something but Leo beat me to it."

The three sisters chuckled amongst themselves and then finally Piper met Xander's eye with her own and for the first time there was no hostility and distrust in them or her voice as she said, "So what do we need to do?"

Xander nodded his head and sent up a quick prayer of thanks to whatever god was on their side and was listening in as he said, "We need to set a trap for this son of a bitch, that's what."

*****

After a couple hours of discussion and more than a few arguments the group felt that they had a workable plan. The hardest part for the Charmed Ones was that they would be returning to San Francisco and go on a demon hunt to end all demon hunts in the area to try and stir things up in the Underworld. They needed a distraction and nothing did it like a raw demonstration of power.

Meanwhile Xander, Angel, Wesley and Dawn were going through the list they had of local targets and were trying to find one that would be the most likely next one.

Willow was busy creating a spell that would shield all the others on the list from detection by magical means. It was hoped that 'Jack's' immunity to magic wouldn't extend to this and that it would somehow shield his targets from detection save one or two, he'd go after them even if he suspected it was a trap. In this case they were counting on his pathology to do the work for them.

It was just as they were a wrapping up that they heard a commotion coming from the lobby. As everyone moved that way Xander heard a very distinct voice say, "Yo, where can I get a bed in this joint? Girl needs her beauty sleep."

Xander couldn't help but smile at the voice, Faith loved playing the act of the tough street girl. Of course having gone through her GED while in prison, and tackling enough college courses to finish her associate's and take a large chunk out of her Bachelor's did take away somewhat from the image she tried to project, but Xander didn't bother telling her that. It was kind of nice to see that once the embers of her thirst for knowledge were finally ignited that they burned with the same passion that she approached everything in her life. It made Xander feel good that she was showing everyone, including herself that she was good for something more than slaying, drinking, and sex.

Xander moved into the Lobby and moved over to Faith giving her a hug as she did the same. Nods of familiarity and handshakes were exchanged with the military group she was working with; most of them Xander had met before or remembered from their days at the Initiative.

Xander took a special pleasure in harassing Graham Miller shamelessly about his attraction to Faith. Something that he was shocked to see actually caused the woman to blush slightly. He stopped of course when Willow swatted his arm for embarrassing Faith. Something he'd never really considered possible.

Willow hugged Faith as well; they're animosity from their teen years long since evaporated and a strong bond of friendship taking its place. She smiled charmingly at Graham and gave him a brief hug before they got down to business.

Faith was naturally pissed when she got the low down on what was going on and the Watcher's ultimate responsibility for it.

Only the assurances of both Xander and Willow that Giles was taking care of the traitor himself stopped her from having Willow teleport her to England to find and take care of whoever it was that had caused so much death and pain. Even Faith knew better than to get in Ripper's way.

"So that's it," Faith asked, "we're going to sit and wait for him to attack these two families and hope we get lucky?"

"Willow has shielded the other families, Faith," Xander explained, "She was very careful to make it look like her efforts to shield them weren't quite powerful enough to cover all of the families and it left an opening for Jack to go after a couple. We know which ones those are so we know where he's going."

"Yeah," Faith said, "That's if he's dumb enough to make a move on them after what happened with these Furies." She countered. "By now he's got to know that we're on to him and that his little spell to hide what he's doing has broken."

"That really doesn't matter," Wesley said, "According to the records from the Council this individual is practically incapable of not going after a woman he thinks guilty. Witches top his list in that regard. If there's even a chance he can kill a few more, he will. In fact that's what almost cost him his life in WWII."

"And we don't think there's a chance he's learned his lesson," Faith asked amazed. She turned and looked at Xander and said, "This is weak, Xan, you got to know that."

Xander looked pissed for a moment but finally said, "I know it is, but it's all we got. The only other chance is to wait for Grissom and his team to process the latest crime scene and hope they get something that will help us trail him but I don't want to wait that long. I want this done with. Time has already cost us far too much."

Faith didn't like that. Of course she didn't like the fact that there were strangers involved in this that she didn't know but she trusted Xander and would extend that trust, however grudgingly to this "Grissom".

"So how we going to do this," Faith asked finally.

"Simple, we call in some favors from some L.A.P.D. actually in the know," he smiled as he dialed his phone.

He waited for the person he was calling to pick up and when they did he said, "Kate, you got any friends on L.A.P.D. that know what's going on and we can trust?"

He listened for a few moments and then chuckled, "Small world." He realized he'd said that out loud and then said, "Never mind. Can you give her a call and tell her we need a few guys in the know for a surveillance detail. Right usual story for those that need to know but don't know everything. Right Homeland Security detail…Right, cool. Thanks."

He chuckled darkly as his eyes went cold and he said, "This should get interesting."

He moved out to the lobby proper and said, "I hate coincidence."

"What's up," Willow asked, as she shared a nervous look with Faith. They both knew to be on their guard when Xander's personality shifted suddenly like this. It only happened when he was truly upset about something.

He turned and said, "Kate got a call from her friend on L.A.P.D., Captain Annie Kramer" he explained, "Seems Captain Kramer got a call from an old friend of hers that's come into town and needs some help. The man's name is Captain Jim Brass of Las Vegas P.D."

"You don't think that's a little too convenient," Faith asked unnecessarily. She knew he did and that's why he was pissed.

"Of course it is," Xander said angrily, "Just goes to show that these guys were screwed from the beginning. This is obviously a move by The Powers; more of their damned manipulative games." He looked up angrily at the ceiling and said, "Just once couldn't you ask people to join this fight rather than forcing it upon them?"

"Doesn't work that way, kid, and you know it," a voice said from the side.

"Whistler," Xander said, the voice sounding like a curse. He didn't even bother looking as he pulled his pistol and pointed it directly at the demon's head. Whistler tried for his part to look cooler than he felt, but he wasn't willing to bet that he could withstand some of the new supercharged ammo the kid had invented and so instead held his hands up in a placating manner, "Whoa there, I come bearing information."

Xander snarled and said, "Little late, by about a dozen innocent families."

"We can't interfere like that, you know it's against the rules," the demon said simply, "The Powers can't take direct action against the enemies plans, just as the other side can't take direct actions against The Powers all either side can do is use their agents, their Champions."

"So why not send a vision to one of the Seers," Xander asked, "They've done it before to stop something the other side has tried in order to bring Armageddon. Hell that's what a Slayer dream is all about."

"True," Whistler said, "but then as usual you're not seeing the bigger picture, and because of that you've got no idea what's going on."

"So explain it to me," Xander said his voice cold.

"The Powers," Whistler began, "have got things going that you couldn't possibly understand, have been in motion for literally eons, and They think it's time you learned to stop trying to interfere in everything that They're trying to accomplish. I'm here to tell you to stop fighting Them and start helping Them."

"Not a chance," Xander said, "I'm not going to just blindly follow orders. I need to know what's happening before I follow anyone. They want blind obedience and I will never accept that."

"Haven't you learned," Whistler said with a slight sneer suddenly coming to his features, as his entire posture and disposition changed, "that your interference only makes things worse. You stopped the prophecy of Buffy dying and that led ultimately to all the pain in Sunnydale. Everything that's ever happened is a direct result of your interfering with prophecies that were made thousands of years before you were born. And quite frankly the bosses are tired of it."

"That's not how it was," Faith said, defending her friend, "X has done a lot of good, saved a lot of people."

Whistler glared at the Slayer and said, "His mistake, and yours was assuming that his desire to save lives took precedent over the plans of The Powers. Those that are meant to die are meant to die for a reason. It is not his job or yours to question that."

He looked at Xander, "But you've done it time and again, and what's worse you have infected others with this arrogance. After you saved the Slayer from her fate she turned around, years later and saved The Key from its fate."

"Dawn would have died," Willow protested.

"As she was meant to," Whistler fired back. "Instead, the Slayer jumped in her place rendering the Key useless to the Powers; her actions a direct result of your influencing her into thinking that that which is meant to be can be fought."

He turned to Willow, "And you, who are you to decide that the way the Shadowmen had done things was unacceptable. Your actions have thrown everything into disorder, and the Powers are now being forced to take more direct action than at any other time in all of existence." Willow pulled away from the accusing tone as Whistler glared at Xander, "Once again a result of your influence."

"Well I'm so sorry they actually have to get off their asses and do something," Xander said. "So what do they want new recruits to take our places?"

"Not new," Whistler said, "Your new friend from Vegas was destined to be on our side since she was born. The other side tried to take her and arranged for her mother to be with a man that made your parents look positively angelic. Eventually her mom snapped and killed him; starting her on a downward spiral that nearly took her off the board. Thankfully she's back in the game where she belongs. Those with her are more or less useless, but they may find their use in time."

"And again I ask," Xander said, "why don't the Powers ask people to help rather than manipulate and force them into it."

"Because," Whistler said, for the first time his existence as a demon becoming clear, "the Powers aren't going to ask for assistance from that which is beneath them."

Xander was so shocked by the statement he actually dropped his gun hand down.

Whistler continued, "This little occurrence here, these dead families, these are your warning, Xander Harris. The Powers could have sent a warning to a Seer but instead They decided that They would be acceptable losses that could be used to teach you an object lesson. The Powers are tired of you interfering with Their plans, They're tired of your arrogant attitude presuming you're entitled to make your own choices, and they're really tired of you filling Their Champions' heads with the same nonsense. The Slayers, the Vamp, the Seers, all of them, belong to The Powers. They will do what The Powers command them to do or they'll be removed and replaced by someone else. The original Council understood this and served to keep the Slayers and Champions under a tight rein and it's time you understood it as well. You'll either comply or be removed, and you'll be responsible for the deaths of many more innocent people."

Xander was absolutely shocked as the pieces fell into place, "The Powers didn't just allow this," he said, his throat suddenly dry, "They started this, didn't they?"

Whistler smiled evilly, "They might have planted the seed in the mind of the Council Traitor to get the ball rolling, but he'd of done something on his own eventually anyway. This way The Powers got something for themselves as well, they removed a number of players from the game that had tried to turn their backs on their destined service to The Powers. Now this will serve as an object lesson for others in the future not to turn their back on their destiny."

"Are you even listening to yourself," Xander demanded, "You're talking about innocent people that have done nothing wrong. Treating them as if they are slaves, having a hand in their deaths, all that makes you as evil as the things we've been fighting against all this time."

Again Whistler couldn't help the sneer that appeared on his face as he said, "Your insignificant opinions of right and wrong, good and evil do not interest your betters' boy. You humans are here to fight the battles The Powers tell you to fight, not to voice your opinions. If They wanted your opinion They'd give you one."

He stood straighter and looked at Xander with unconcealed contempt, "We tried to be subtle but you are too stupid to get it, so we've had to get harsher, and this is how it is."

Willow realized something and said, "This isn't the same Whistler that Buffy knows, is it?"

He looked at her and said, "That bumbling persona served the purpose it was designed for, namely to make those I contacted feel more at ease. In this case I am not here to placate or try to convince. I am here to direct. We're fighting a war against evil, and you're interfering with that war, Xander Harris."

"You're waging a war," Xander said, "we are the ones fighting it and we're doing the best we can. If you can't offer us the help we need then maybe you should just get out of our way."

"It doesn't work that way," Whistler said, "To put it into terms you understand The Powers are the generals of this war. You are nothing but foot soldiers."

"You mean we're expendable," Willow said, disgustedly.

"That is exactly what I mean," Whistler said, "While we've been willing to allow humans to carry on with a minimum of interference that was because for the last several thousand years they have obeyed our directives and the directives of those The Powers have chosen to lead. In recent years that has changed and it is because of you," he pointed at Xander.

"What about Free Will, and all that," Faith asked.

Again Whistler snorted, "Very few humans are actually free. It's a gift, not a right. None of you are free. From the moment you joined this fight you were conscripted to The Powers command."

"Some of us didn't choose this," Faith said disgusted, "and none of the baby Slayers chose it."

"Fine," Whistler said, "then we can remove them from the game if that is your wish."

"You mean kill them," Xander said.

"Again that is exactly what I mean," the demon said, "The Powers for thousands of years chose girls to fight this war, and now you have done the same. But it is time for you to remember who is in charge of this war."

"All this time," Xander said, "All these years, we thought we were fighting for good. But that's not the truth at all. You don't care about good or evil, you just care about being in control."

"This war," Whistler said, "Is fought on The Powers' time table, not yours. It is a war that has stretched further back in time than you can imagine and will stretch far into the future the same way. A few human lives here and there are meaningless to the ultimate victory. However that doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want."

"But," Willow started but was cut off by Whistler's command, "Silence!"

He turned and looked fully at Xander, "While they appreciate you giving them more Champions with the activation of the Slayers; a thankfully useful result of the Red Witch's interference, they are tired of your interference and your influence. Your constant efforts to make the Champions believe that they always have a choice, that they can always just walk away; that they are free from the commands of destiny are no longer tolerable. So you, Xander Harris, can consider yourself on notice. You will comply or you can consider yourself out of this game. You will obey, or those you love will be punished. Do you understand?"

"You have no right to do this," Xander said, glaring at the demon.

"Haven't you been listening," the balance demon said, "They have every right; you serve them."

Xander shook his head, "No, I'm not a puppet, and neither are the Slayers or anyone else. We fight because it's right not because you tell us to."

Whistler snorted at him and said, "You were never part of this. You are an insignificant human with delusions of Championship. All you have ever done was interfere with the efforts of your betters. You should have died years ago in Sunnydale; just another useless death of another insignificant human. You've been lucky thus far but your luck has run out. You have been warned, Alexander, you will not be warned again. Complete this mission and solve your little puzzle but once completed you will need to decide whether you will accept your conscription or whether you will need to be retired. Think carefully." And with that he vanished.

Xander actually fell to his knees when the demon was gone, the words and conversation cutting him to his soul. Willow quickly was at his side as was Faith, both trying to console the man who's legendary strength of will, had suddenly left him.

*****

Nick Stokes stood at the top of the stairs just out of sight, stunned. He and Sara had finished processing the sisters and had decided to take a small break before arranging for the evidence to be taken to a local lab for processing.

For Nick the experience with the three women had been ethereal to say the least. Their attitudes, even in the face of the horrific attack they had just experienced were almost childlike. They seemed to dismiss the attack from their minds as if it had been nothing and didn't give any of the usual responses that they had both come to expect from victims of violent crime.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact of the weird that Nick had recently come into contact with, he'd of suspected that the three women were somehow mentally disabled and not able to grasp what had happened to them. However one look into their eyes, past the almost childlike innocence, he saw there he saw awareness and what was unmistakably wisdom beyond their apparent ages. The women understood exactly what had happened to them, and they had simply accepted it, and moved on from it. Something until now he'd been unable to do after his own experience.

That was until his mind had been touched by one of the sisters and all that anger, pain, and fear that he'd been bottling up simply vanished as if it had never been. He'd lived with it so long he'd almost forgotten what it was like to be without it. Then it was gone and he'd remembered and been so thankful that he'd silently agreed that even if this all didn't pan out, and he was without a job, it was still worth it, just to be free again.

For Sara, the experience had been even stranger because not only were the sisters creeping her out, with their talking in sync with one another but also that weird floating thing they'd started doing as they healed. Not to mention the fact that they were making her abilities practically sing in her head.

She didn't understand it, not a bit. Every time she thought she had a handle on exactly what she was capable of, Mother Nature, or fate, or someone with a sick sense of humor decided to throw a little extra into the mix and creep her out all over again.

First it had been dreams, and then when she got a handle on that, it was sensing Gil, and then when she got a handle on that it was full on Technicolor experiences of what victims went through.

Then when she had a modicum of a handle on that, now she was hearing people talk in her head; whispers of assurance, and encouragement and promises of support. The weirdest thing of all was that instead of sending her screaming from the room she almost felt at home. As if somehow she'd found what she was looking for…control.

Now however all those feelings she'd had just moments before had vanished as if they'd never existed. The only thing in fact keeping her on her feet was Nick's steady hand on her shoulder and comforting presence.

They hadn't meant to listen in, they really hadn't, but they'd heard the loud voices and recognized Xander's and their natural curiosity had gotten the better of them. Now neither one of them were too happy with what they had learned.

Sara couldn't believe it, her entire life, all of the pain, all of the sorrow, all the loss, all of it wasn't accidental at all, and it wasn't even her fault, or her mom's. It was the fault of beings she'd never even known existed; beings that had decided that she was a pawn in a game, to be manipulated and used as they saw fit.

She didn't know whether to collapse to her knees and cry, or storm down the stairs and beat the thing telling the people below about her life as if it were public domain.

For now she settled for just standing there in awe, allowing Nick's caring presence to fill her senses and give her some warmth in the sudden cold she felt to her very soul.

Of course even in her own pain she listened, carefully to what was being said, and realized that perhaps the only person that was taking all of this worse than she was, was Xander. In the short time she'd known the man she'd come to realize that although he tried to hide it he wore his heart, and his compassion for others on his sleeve. Not to mention he'd saved her life when that demon, and wasn't she still having just a little problem with that concept, had attacked her.

It was obvious that he cared for people, that he had sacrificed since he was just a kid to protect those he loved, and now, this person, this individual, this whatever it was that could appear and disappear at will had done everything in its power to do what life so far had failed to do, break the man down.

After this "Whistler", if she'd heard him correctly, was gone she felt an overwhelming need to go to Xander's aid. That desire probably had something to do with the Furies, she thought, but it didn't matter.

Yes, on one hand she'd heard what had been said and realized that girls all over the world had been thrust into a war they should have no knowledge of, let along part in because of him and Willow, but she also realized, from what little she'd learned of the two people that they'd of never done that if there was any other way available.

They cared too much for people to have so callously done that. So for whatever reason, even though every usual instinct would be screaming at her that he was everything she was against, this time her only thought was to try to ease his pain, or at least try to comfort the sobbing man. Something that anyone that knew her would have been amazed at to say the least.

Nick in fact was so shocked by her actions that his mouth was actually hanging open when Sara went down the stairs and went to her knees to lay a comforting hand on the sobbing man's shoulder.

Finally Nick was pulled out of his shock induced stare and slowly came down the stairs, almost feeling like an intruder on the scene but deciding that right now, he, hell, all of them needed answers. He wasn't as experienced in these supernatural things as the other people here, but even he had recognized the gravity of the situation. If the people that Xander and Willow thought were on their side weren't, then where the hell did that leave them; especially if these "Powers" were as powerful and arrogant as had been implied.

Nick didn't have an answer, and judging by the scene laid out before him he doubted that anyone here was going to have an answer for him. So Nick Stokes did what he always did when he didn't have an answer; he went and found one.

*****

Kate and Gunn dropped Grissom off at the Hyperion telling him they were headed out to get some information on recent arrivals in the city. Grissom watched them go before heading into the Hyperion after he, Catherine, Warrick, and Greg had finished processing the scene. The other three had stayed at the lab Xander had arranged them to use while they were in L.A. to oversee the processing of the evidence. Xander had told him that most supernatural evidence, barring magic could be processed like any other, it's just you wouldn't know what you were looking at unless you knew what you had to begin with. The people at the lab had some experience dealing with the supernatural and they were giving the three CSI's a crash course in supernatural 101.

It seemed unusual that Xander had a lab that could handle that kind of evidence but he let that pass for now, he'd have plenty of questions for the one-eyed agent after they caught the killer they were after.

When he entered the lobby it was almost like a ghost town. No one was around and he couldn't hear anyone moving around either. If he didn't know the kind of people that were here he'd think that the early morning, just a few hours before sunrise would mean they were all asleep.

Instead he simply assumed they were working out of the lobby, so the first place he went to was the conference room he had seen being used earlier. He stepped in and found several people working around a map and several opened books, amongst them Nick.

It surprised him to see the man amongst these people so comfortably but not overly so. As Nick noticed his presence he moved away and said, "Griss, we need to talk."

The earnestness in the man's voice worried Grissom and he moved out into the lobby with him.

"What is it Nick," Grissom asked, concerned at the look on Nick's face.

"Something happened while you were gone, something major," and with that he gave his boss all the information he had and could remember about the visit by the demon called Whistler.

Grissom listened to all of it with concern and worry clear on his face before finally asking, "Where's Sara now?"

Nick nodded towards the stairs, "After they got Xander back on his feet they took him up to one of the rooms. She told me to tell you that she's got another room up there and to come see her when you had the chance," he then handed Grissom a room key.

Grissom nodded and said, "The lab Xander got us is processing the evidence right now, hopefully we can figure out something to help. The others are there overseeing. Where's everyone else?"

"Well," Nick began, "Ellie and Brass are off somewhere talking. I think they had some air to clear. Sara's upstairs. Some people arrived after you left, some woman named 'Faith' who apparently is also one of those Slayers. Her people went out to patrol with that guy Angel. Willow is with Xander, trying to help him deal with what happened earlier and the rest of us are working on some crazy plan they've come up with to use some people as bait for the killer."

Grissom didn't like the sound of that and apparently Nick saw the look and said, "I don't like it either but as far as I can tell they don't think there's another choice. This guy's got all the advantage right now and they're getting desperate I think."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures is a bad way to plan," Grissom said, not comforted by Nick's comments.

"I know," Nick agreed.

Grissom looked at his watch and said, "I'm going up to see Sara, let me know if anything changes."

"All right," Nick said and he turned back into the conference room.

Grissom moved up the stairs and to the room Nick had directed him to. He knocked softly once before opening the door and moving into the room.

It was large, about suite size and well maintained. He didn't take a lot of time to study it however because his eyes were drawn to Sara, sitting on the bed with her knees up to her chest, looking as lost as he'd ever seen her.

He moved onto the bed without consciously moving and took her into his arms. She wrapped her own around him and let all the pain and anger that she had been hiding come out as she wept against the only man in her life that she could ever truly be herself with.

No words needed to be said as the two lovers shared the pain and tried to make it hurt just a little less.

*****

The Source moved through his underground dominion with an air of a being that knew his time had come. According to his information the demonic half-breed known as 'Jack the Ripper' was cutting a swatch through the white witch world and would soon eliminate the only thing standing between him and releasing the Old Ones from their imprisonment in the Deeper Well.

He was assured that he would receive a just reward for his efforts, which would equate to access to power beyond even his imagination.

He entered his throne room and saw that the one that had brought this opportunity about was standing there waiting for him, a smug look on the face it wore.

Again he could not help but ask, "Why is it that you wear that form, of all the countless ones you have to choose from, why that one?"

The First just smiled a cold sadistic smile and said, "It's to remind myself of what I lost. And to remind myself that sometimes even I can be too arrogant."

"Indeed," The Source said, "I could never see an occurrence in which you would enlist my lowly aid in one of your 'quests'."

"Mind your tongue," The First said, "Ultimately you are still one of my agents, not the other way around. You would do well to remember that."

The Source couldn't help the snort of disgust, "You made it very clear long ago that you had no use for me or my demons. 'Failed experiment' is what you called us I believe. It's why I've not had to deal with you or pay fealty to you for some time. I have no intention of starting now just because you need my assistance while you lick your wounds."

The First raged internally at the arrogance of The Source but reined it in quickly. The truth was that its defeat at the hand of the Slayer and her friends had weakened it considerably. It was no longer able to appear even incorporeal on the earth realm and had to settle for appearing here in the Underworld. A place it had long since dismissed as insignificant to its plans. To now have to appear and have to make a deal with The Source was a bitter pill to swallow indeed, but a pill worth swallowing none the less. If The First could not have the Earth realm then it would destroy it, and The Source had the means to do that but first they had to remove a few obstacles in the form of White Witches.

The First calmed itself and said, "How go the efforts of our young Jack?"

The Source accepted the victory in semi-good grace and was only slightly smug as he said, "My plan is working perfectly. Even now he moves on to another set of witches on his list. In another few weeks he should have eliminated enough that the Charmed Ones will have no chance to stop the opening of the Deeper Well. Then all we will need to do is wait for the right time and Hell will rule once more on Earth and I will have ultimate power."

The First grinned in appreciation for The Source's plan. Giving him the information of the Watcher's Council assassin and the lists that they kept had been a stroke of genius. Soon all that The Powers and the beings of Light they served would watch as all their efforts to protect the Creator's pathetic experiment known as mortals would collapse. This entire dimension would fall to the Darkness and soon all of creation would be The First's to rule. It was only a matter of time.

*****

"This is obviously a trap," the man in shadows said. Jack looked at him disgusted, "No trap can stop us. We will destroy the bitches as we were meant to, as we were born to."

The man just snorted, "You are far too arrogant for your own good. Surely the fight with the vampire taught you some kind of lesson. The spell to shield us has been broken. Our enemies know what we are doing. Even now we've lost the ability to track some of our targets. The ones we can track just happen to be within this city, even you cannot be so insane as to not see this for what it is."

Jack waved the man's concerns off as if they were a mere annoyance, "They under estimate us. They think they're magic can protect them. It is a fool's errand. My natural immunity will protect us, and we will continue to wipe this scum from the earth. Soon we will be able to rest."

"Stupidity," the man said in disgust, "your pathological need to kill women is going to be the death of you, or us, one of these days."

Jack's own disgust was clear as he said, "You sound like the simpering fool when you talk like that. Perhaps you should join him."

The threat was not at all cowing, in fact it seemed to irritate the man even more, "Do not make threats against me little Jack, you and I both know that you need me as much as I need you, perhaps more so. If it weren't for me taking care of the families you'd not get your chance to take care of the women, now would you?"

"I could deal with the families," Jack said in protest.

The man just laughed, "Ah yes, I've seen how you do subtle, remember, I was with you in Germany when you tried to attack that family during the battle of Berlin. Interestingly even with your resistance to magic how long were you imprisoned in the fall out from the fireball spell the witch threw at you?"

"She caught me off guard," Jack defended, "I wasn't expecting her to sacrifice herself to bring down the building on top of us."

"Which just goes to show you why need me. Just because you're immune to direct magic doesn't mean you're immune to the effects of magic. A smart magic use could easily use magic indirectly to defeat you, which is why you need me to get to them and neutralize them so you can do what you need to do and collect the witches' magic."

The man seemed to consider that for a second and then said, "And that's another thing, how do you know that we can trust the ritual we're using is what we were told."

"I can tell," Jack said, "after the Agent from the Council gave us the list the one who found us and gave us the ritual assured me it would help bring about an end to Witchcraft once and for all. It is what we have always wanted."

"Right," the man said, "and you don't think it's a little strange that someone showed up at the exact time we needed them to in order to get this ritual?"

"It was the will of God," Jack said, "I've always known I was doing his work and that was proof. We will use witchcraft to end witchcraft forever, it is just irony."

"It is blind stupidity is what it is," the man said, "Still, what do I care, in the end I'm just a figment just like you are."

"Yes, but we are the ones with power, aren't we," Jack asked.

"Indeed," the man said.

With that Jack the Ripper opened his eyes and prepared for another ritual. The man, would aid him because he had to. He would get Jack in and then Jack would do Justice once more. The time was coming when he could perform the ritual once again and this time he would not fail. He would make up for his mistake with the so called "Furies" and his success would bring him one step closer to ending the evil of witchcraft that had created him once and for all.

Meanwhile, in a deep corner of Jack's fractured mind the man that was once James Stephen fought against the cage that held him a prisoner in his own mind. Watching in horror as the anger that his one mistake with magic had given form to. An anger that used that power to shove him to the back of his own mind as it went on a rampage pulled from the deepest pit of his subconscious. He watched as it prepared to commit another atrocity all in the name of justice, and he wept at his own helplessness.

AN: I didn't expect the thing with Whistler and The Powers. Strangely enough I always have this happen, writing a story and all of a sudden it takes a turn I don't expect, I was a sleep when this came to me in a dream. I realized that the arrogance of the Oracles as shown to Angel in his series is indicitive of The Powers...and they're probably worse since they're even more powerful. I suddenly had no problem imagining them sacraficing a few humans, even several humans in order to regain control they've lost with the independence shown by the Sunnydale Crew. I'm sure some people aren't going to agree and I'll get flames, but oh well.


	12. Chapter 12

12. Trials and Confrontations

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: Ok, here it goes, something MANY have you have asked for, the Powers get their due. For such a crime as theirs I felt they needed a serious slap down and that's what they get. I hoe you all like it and I hope those few that have said they didn't like where things were going like this a little better, if not, well, sorry. As for Whistler I didn't forget him just going to do him a little differently, trust me. As for now....Enjoy the show.

Giles took a moment to steady himself as the teleportation spell released him and awareness returned to him. Travel that way had always been a little hard on him and this time was no different. However the situation called for it and so he pulled him handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the perspiration form his brow brought on by both the trip and the warm California morning sun as he recovered.

Finally he felt well enough to move into the Hyperion proper and did so, moving with a grace and silence that belayed his appearance. A life time of fighting the dark had taught him a thing or two, despite the number of times he found himself getting knocked on the head when he was in Sunnydale.

He moved past the open door of the conference room, noticing that several people he didn't recognize were inside, apparently discussing plans for tonight. According to what Willow had told him they had laid a trap for Jack the Ripper and they were hoping to catch him tonight. Giles certainly hoped so; this was a situation that needed to be resolved and resolved soon, both here and back in England.

Even now several people he trusted, under the watchful and protective eye of several Slayers were pouring through all the information they could find on where the list was being kept and who had access. Giles was certain they would have a name very soon and then, then he would extract proper justice for what had happened here. Innocent people had died and Giles was going to see to it that whoever was responsible paid dearly for that.

Buffy of course was back in England helping them to search. She had wanted to accompany Giles but he had insisted she stay in England to make sure that no one tried anything while he was away. This incident had put all of them on notice that there were obviously some remnants of the old Council still hanging around and they needed to have one of them in England until the situation was resolved.

She hadn't liked it, wanting to run off and help her friends just as they had done for her, but in the end Giles had made her realize that her presence would only serve to make Xander feel worse about the whole thing. She hadn't liked it but she'd known he was right.

Giles thoughts turned to the moment at hand as he moved up the stairs following the trail of Willow's magical signature.

He found her and Faith deep in discussion with another man that Giles vaguely remembered as Graham Miller from Riley's unit in Sunnydale. Apparently the rumors he'd been hearing about Faith and the young man we're accurate, if his mere presence in this discussion was any indication, that and how closely he was standing next to Faith who didn't seem to even notice; quite surprising given her usual distrust when people started to get to close to her, physically or emotionally.

Faith was growing as a person but she had been hurt badly and often as a child and to see this kind of progress made Giles quite happy. Of course he'd have to have a talk with the young man when he got a chance, right of a father and all that.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind however as they noticed his approach.

He hugged them both, first Willow, then Faith, and shook Graham's hand. He took a silent and perverse sort of pleasure out of the wince the young man gave when Giles put a little extra into the squeeze of his hand. Giles might be older but he was definitely not a light weight.

He turned to Willow then and asked, "How is he?"

Willow shrugged, "He's hurting, Giles. All he's ever really had is us, and to be blamed by Whistler for all the pain in Sunnydale, even though we all know it's not true. It's like all his worst fears realized. I haven't seen him this upset and unsure of himself since…"

She trailed off, not wanting to say it, but Faith cleared her throat and did it for her, "Since Sunnydale, G. Xander hasn't been like this since back in the dale when he was still acting like a groupie."

Willow took offense at the statement but Faith held up her hand to stave off the argument, "Face it Willow, Xander always played at one thing or another, and never let us see what was really inside, because he was afraid to. Ever since we left Sunnydale he hasn't been afraid of who or what he is and it's been a sight to see."

Willow considered the words carefully as Faith turned back to Giles, "He's afraid again Giles, I can practically smell it on him and I don't like it."

Giles nodded at her assessment and turned to Willow, a questioning look on his face. Willow considered the Slayers words carefully and then nodded sadly.

Giles nodded his understanding and said, "Why don't you three take a break, I'll go in and talk to Xander. As I understand it you're going to be going after Jack this evening so you would do well to get some rest."

The three nodded, Graham slipping his hand into Faith's as he led her and Willow away from Xander's room.

Giles watched them go, 'Definitely going to have a talk with that young man,' he thought before knocking once softly and then opening the door.

The room was a simple two bed affair, a couple night stands, a desk, and some chairs. All but one of the lights was out, the one on the nightstand furthest from Xander being the only illumination in the room. Giles decided to keep things as they were for now, not wanting to make Xander any more upset than he already was and instead simply studied the young man on the far bed.

Xander was curled up, his legs pulled up towards his chest, and his back to the door. The posture and position obviously a clear message of "go away" but Giles would have none of it. He and Xander needed to have a conversation and they needed to do it now because the damage Whistler's attack had done took anymore root than it already had.

Giles pulled one of the chairs over to the bed and sat down. He'd barely had time to arrange himself comfortably before Xander's voice startled him, "I thought we said that teleporting should only be used in case of an emergency."

"This is an emergency," Giles said softly.

I'm going to finish this mission, Giles," Xander said, seemingly switching topics, "I owe it to the victims. So don't even think about trying to talk me out of it. After that we'll talk about a resignation."

Giles sat there, stone still and practically struck dumb as his genius level intellect tried to figure out what Xander was talking about. Finally after a few moments he thought he had it and said, "You think I'm here for your resignation?"

"Sure," Xander said, still not turning to look at him, "By now you've heard what Whistler said, and even though I know you'd never run the Council the way Travers and his ilk did you're still going to have to make some changes. Those changes won't be able to include me since I'm persona non grata according to the Powers, but they said I could stay till we finished this thing with Jack so that's what I'm doing."

"Xander," Giles began, "I didn't teleport here because this is a Council emergency. I came because my son needed me. This is a family emergency."

Xander turned and looked at him, confusion in his eye.

Giles smiled softly and said, "I came because Willow told me that you needed your family, and so here I am. Buffy would have come as well if I didn't have her working on tracking down the man responsible for starting this whole thing. As it stands I practically had to have her restrained to keep her from coming here and, 'making a hat' is I think what she said. I didn't understand the reference, but her meaning was clear," he smiled more at Xander and said, "Your family is here for you Xander. We've always been here, and we always will."

"But Whistler said The Powers,"

"Bugger The Powers," Giles said, heatedly, his accent slipping, "I don't care what the bloody Powers have to say. Our job is to protect humanity, and that's what we do. It's what we've been doing and what we will continue to do so. If we succeed at that, and we have, time and time again, then what freedoms we allow the Slayers and anyone else involved in the fight is not their business."

Xander looked unconvinced, "Giles I don't think this was a bluff. I'm not so sure this is a war we can win."

"We don't need to Xander," Giles said, his certainty clear in his voice and demeanor, "The fact of the matter is that The Powers That Be, cannot operate directly against evil in this dimension, that's why they have Champions in the first place. They need us and they know it. I think they're hostility towards you is because you have in a few short years been instrumental in accomplishing things that they have been unable to do for all their power and immortality."

"I'm not the only one," Xander, protested, instinctively getting uncomfortable when anyone sings his praises. It's not a false humility, or even a feeling of unworthiness, it was simply that he didn't think what he did wasn't anything any honest person would do in the same situation.

"Yes, Xander," Giles said, used to this particular dance, "but you're the only one that did it without it being your destiny. You in fact have been instrumental in stopping the plans of destiny on more than one occasion. You're a," he searched for the right word and then his eyes widened as he came up with it, "You are a wildcard. The Powers have known exactly what was going to happen and when for untold eons and now, suddenly with you, they as unsure of what's to come as anyone and for beings such as them they don't like it."

"So you're saying, I'm not fired," Xander asked, clearly shocked.

"Absolutely not," Giles said, "You taught me, Xander, from the very beginning that Prophecy and Destiny can be resisted. That there is more than what The Powers or anyone else says there is. You proved to me that choice exists and that it has to be protected above all things. The old Council didn't understand this, and didn't even consider it. As a result we got what they became. I'll never allow that to happen again."

Giles cleared his throat and said, "In truth, if I had to make a choice of my own, I'd take you, Xander, over any other Champion the Powers might give me because you have done something that no Champion the Powers controls has done, you made the choice to fight. I think that's worth more than anything. The Powers can rattle their sabers all they wish, in the end, they need us and they know it. I won't undo all the good work we've accomplished the last few years just because they're uncomfortable with change. They need to, and I cannot believe I'm about you say this, they need to deal."

Xander actually laughed at the sour look on Giles face and said, "Hanging with baby Slayers is starting to rub off on you."

Giles face soured even more and he said, "Oh Xander, do shut up."

Xander laughed as he stood up, suddenly feeling lighter as all the weight of all his guilt and sudden self-doubt slipped from his shoulders. Giles stood with him and rested a manly and fatherly hand on Xander's shoulder. The two men stared into one another's eyes for a moment and then finally Xander said, "Thanks, dad."

Giles simply smiled and nodded, squeezing Xander's shoulder again.

Xander shook his head, "I can't believe it, I mean I'm twenty-five, an agent of the Council, and I've faced some of the scariest things in existence, yet here I am still worrying about whether or not I'm good enough to do the job."

Giles shook his head, "You weren't really worried Xander, you know you're good enough for this job, but sometimes our worst fears can rear up and bite us at the most inopportune time. In this case, I believe that is exactly what Whistler was trying to accomplish. Get you to doubt yourself and get you to quit on your own. It just further reiterates my earlier belief that they can't do anything to you or any of us directly, and they know it."

"Yeah," Xander said, feeling his old self coming back, and all those worries and fears fading away as if they were nothing more than a half remembered dream, "But now I'm starting to think we're going to need to worry about indirectly."

The two men shared a look then Xander took a deep breath, and once again was fully the warrior that he had become as he said, "Now let's go bag us a lunatic demon."

He moved out of the room unaware of Giles hanging back. As soon as Xander was out of the room Giles smile feel and worry creased his features. He looked around the room and then suddenly up at the ceiling he said, "Please God, let this be the right decision. I don't think any of us could handle it if I'm wrong."

Giles shook off the fear and squared his shoulders as he moved from the room to join his son. Unnoticed by him a figure in a long brown coat moved forward; his presence invisible to the powerful protective wards around the hotel. Underneath his coat could clearly be seen movement as if something alive were underneath the hooded apparel.

He smiled warmly at the retreating back of Rupert Giles and then looked up at the ceiling and nodded. His eyes hardened as he vanished without a sound.

*****

Giles and Xander entered the conference room and all discussion ceased. Everyone looked to Xander, trying to decide if he was ok or not.

Willow, Faith, Fred, and Cordelia each in turn came up to him and gave him a warm, comforting hug that he accepted with good graces. After that a few handshakes all around were given as words of encouragement were delivered passionately. No one there was too pleased with the Powers on a good, day, and this most definitely was not a good day.

"Ok, guys," Xander said, "It's time to settle this. I'm sick of being played with and we end it here. First we deal with Jack, then we deal with the traitor in the Council that set this up," he turned to Giles who nodded, a dark look on his face, "and then we get ready for a war with the Powers, because that's what it's coming down to."

He took a steadying breath, to control his temper and then said, "None of you signed on for a war with the Powers That Be, but I'm not going to let this stand. They think we're nothing. They think we're pawns to be used and discarded like we're nothing. We're just human beings, or vampires with souls, or just Slayers, or just a multitude of things. I say, we're more than that. We're the only reason they still have a war to wage. We have saved the world over and over again and it's time they learned to respect that. I don't know if we can win against them, but I do know I'm not going to be anyone's pawn, and I'm not going to let any of my friends be one either. Anyone that's not ready for that, just say so now, and you're out, with no ill will. I'll understand completely."

Every one of his friends smiled and nodded to him, clear indication that they were with him to the end. All eyes then fell on the unknown element, Grissom and his people.

Gil turned to look at his team. They all looked scared, just as scared as he was. They didn't know what was going on and it sounded like Xander was getting ready to declare war on something that you didn't go up against and expect to come out on top.

Still, if there was one thing Grissom had always believed in, even when his faith had wavered, was the power of Free Will. From everything he had gleaned from listening to the others, these "Powers" were supposed to be on their side, but apparently were more interested in their own power. He had met people like that on more than one occasion and it saddened him that this particular flaw wasn't reserved to human beings. Still, if these Powers were at all involved in causing these deaths then that made them criminals. Even if human law would never touch them he couldn't turn his back on that, and from the looks in the eyes of every one of his people, neither could they.

Grissom cleared his throat and said, "We're in."

Xander nodded, taking it at face value and said, "Alright, the Powers can wait till later. First we need to stop the Killer," he looked at Grissom and asked, "What have you got?"

Grissom looked at his notes for a moment and said, "Evidence we collected, both from the scene and from the Furies tells us this guy's not worried about being caught. We've got plenty of physical evidence that would connect him to all the crime scenes in Vegas and the one here. Probably because he's using the same weapons over and over without bothering to clean them after he uses them. Also we found a few items along with some ripped fabric near the window," he looked at Angel and asked, "Did you tear his clothes when you were fighting with him?"

Angel shrugged, "Possibly, it was a pretty brutal fight, he was strong and I had to fight with everything I had to keep from getting my head knocked in. Getting him out the window was luck, and it's possible his clothes weren't as resilient as he is."

Grissom nodded, "We found some receipts and a matchbook. According to the people at the lab the receipts are for local diners or restaurants in the area," Gil indicated on the computer map that was set up for everyone to see three spots with the names of the restaurants and diners, "Here, here, and here," he held up a picture of the matchbook, "The matchbook is for a place called The Dungeon, none of the people had heard of it."

Gunn spoke up, "That's because it's a demon bar over on fifth, "it's not visible to most humans unless they know what they're looking for, it's right," he looked at the map and indicated a spot, "here."

Grissom nodded and put another spot at the bar as Sara spoke up, "Most people, when they're in a new area like to stick to a comfort zone. They eat nearby, shop nearby etc. If he's new to the area then he found a place to go that's within the same comfort zone that his places to eat are at. If we draw use the restaurants and the bar as points of reference we can create the comfort zone," she typed away on the computer for a moment and an ever increasing spiral was drawn connecting the points of reference. At the point where the spiral got tighter she drew another circle then said, "Odds are he's staying somewhere in here."

Kate looked closely at the map and said, "There's a lot of flea bags down there that cater specifically to demons, we should start checking them out."

Xander nodded, "Anything else?"

Grissom nodded, "We also found some dirt deposits that didn't fit with anything else in the Furies apartment, meaning the killer probably brought them with him as we eliminated Angel as the source," he held up the analysis, "According to the lab it's a mixture of clay, sand, and silica," again he went to the map, "For this area, according to the information we were able to find that particular mixture is unique and would only be found here," he indicated a section of L.A. way out in the industrial section, "You said he needs to do part of this ritual to prepare, maybe that's his staging area."

"It's highly possible," Giles said, "This particular ritual would draw a lot of power, if he did the preparations anywhere in the city it would probably be detected, but out in that area is much more shielded, due to the ambient powers."

Grissom looked confused and Willow explained, "Some areas just have more residual magic and power in them than others. Some spots are so heavy that they can act like cloaks for any magic that's done within them. For centuries magic users would use places like that to perform their spells to hide from hunters. The beauty there is that their magic ends up adding to the ambient creating an even stronger area of cloaking. This place over in the industrial section is pretty well known locally as being the place you'd want to do magic if you didn't want anyone to know you were doing it."

"Shouldn't an area like that be watched or someone keep an eye on it then," Nick asked, still getting his head around the concepts he had been introduced to but doing well as far as he was concerned.

"Willow shook her head sadly, "Except for us, most people in the know don't care what someone else does unless they know it's going to affect them; kind of a live and let live attitude."

"A criminal's favorite companion," Brass said, speaking for the first time, "Public indifference."

"I'm afraid, Captain Brass," Giles said, "in that, your world and ours is very similar."

Brass nodded and Xander said, "Ok, we need to check those hotels, the bar, and the ritual site."

Brass nodded, "My friend in L.A.P.D. is going to loan us some guys in the know," he looked over at Kate and said, "apparently you're a bit of a legend amongst the cops that know what the world is really like."

Kate snorted, "Didn't help me keep my job," she considered that for a moment and then looked at Gunn, "Not that I'm complaining."

Xander chuckled then looked out of the corner of his eye and Angel who nodded his head, indicating he should make assignments as he saw fit, this was his show, "Ok, Grissom, have you run all your evidence?"

Grissom shook his head, "No we still have some evidence to process, we just came back because we heard we might be needed."

Xander nodded, "Thanks, ok why don't you take your people back to the lab and finish that up?"

Grissom nodded, "We'll head out when we're done here and call you if we find anything else."

Xander nodded, he turned to the others and said, "Faith, you and Graham take your team and check the diners," he turned to Kate and Gunn and said, "think you two can check out the flea bags in the area?"

They both looked at Angel who nodded and Gunn said, "You got it."

Xander then looked at Wes and Fred, "I need you two to take Ellie and her father to the bar, see if anyone knows or has heard anything."

"Why am I going with them," Brass asked, confused and suspicious.

Xander just shrugged, "I thought you might want to see what your daughter really does for a living. You wanted honesty, this is it. I'd also like while you're out to check on the surveillance teams your friend loaned us. It's not that I don't trust them, but I don't," Brass started to protest but Xander cut them off, "It's not because I don't think they're trustworthy or your friend isn't it's because we've never really dealt with anything like this before and I doubt they have either. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Brass couldn't argue with that and nodded his head, following Wes and Fred out of the room.

Finally Xander got to the part he knew that wasn't going to go over well. He looked at Willow, Cordelia, and Dawn and said, "I need you two to stay here and make sure we haven't missed anything while Angel and I go check out the prep site."

"What!"

Xander actually had to rub his ear at the volume the three had produced.

"Xander," Willow said, "how can you even think of going into a situation like that alone? You might need me there you know because my specialty is kind of magic."

"Yeah," Dawn said, "I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need you to protect me."

Cordy was about to put her two cents in when Xander whistled loudly to get their attention, "Guys, hold on."

The three women stood there hands on their hips waiting for him to explain. He took a nervous breath and said, "Wills Giles and I," he looked at his surrogate father who actually cringed when Willow turned her gaze on him. Xander went on like he hadn't noticed, "kind of decided that it would be best if you not go there because Jack might have some nasty surprises set up for magic users and we want to make sure it's safe."

"Besides," Giles said, "Jack is immune to your magic; you'd be essentially helpless against him if a situation were to occur. Instead we'd like you to remain here to aid the Furies in their recovery and to put up a protection around the hotel that would be more effective than what would normally be possible without you here."

"But wait," Nick said, "I thought you said this guy was immune to magic. How can she use magic to protect the hotel?"

"Protection magic is a different sort," Willow explained, "Jack's immune to magical attack. With a protection spell it's usually more passive so it might work against him. Also with me here I can put up a special protection, something he's probably never come across."

"How so," Greg asked, the Willow making him nervous with her display of power he'd first witnessed.

Willow smiled at him indulgently and said, "Let's just say I'm interested in seeing just how 'proof' against magic this monster is because some of my protection spells have teeth and."

Greg actually gulped at the menace in the woman's voice as did a few of the others.

Faith looked over and watched the whole thing and had to hold back a chuckle at her friend's little display. Sometimes Willow could be seriously scary when she wanted to be.

"What about me," Dawn asked, "And me?" parroted Cordelia.

Xander sighed, "I don't want Willow here alone. It's not that I don't think you guys can really handle yourselves. If I thought that I wouldn't be willing to leave you alone. But you're always going on about how you don't need to be protected, just like I didn't like it when it was happening to me. Well you're right, but that doesn't mean you have to go charging into every situation either. Angel and I are better equipped to do this and two people are less likely to be caught than three or four. Someone needs to stay here and protect the Furies, help them get better, and make sure this place is protected. I'm electing you three, now, can you handle it or not?"

The three seemed affronted at the attitude that they couldn't handle it and slowly nodded their acquiescence.

Giles watched the whole thing and actually wiped his brow surreptitiously with a handkerchief that Angel handed him. The men had long since learned that pissing off the women in their lives, even the ones that were just friends was a quick way to get themselves into trouble.

As everyone split away to go to their assigned task Giles and Wes both approached Xander. Giles told him that he'd be returning to England immediately to continue looking for the traitor in their ranks. Xander had nodded and hugged the man once more before turning to Wes "I didn't think about Fred being pregnant," he said apologetically, "If you want she doesn't need to go. I wouldn't want to do anything to endanger the little Pryce."

Wes smiled and nodded, "Thank you I appreciate that Xander but The Dungeon, as ominous as it sounds actually has a fairly effective anti-violence spell in it. In fact it's on par with Caritas. We've insisted in recent years that any of the demon hangouts that want our cooperation in operating had to have one in place that would protect any humans that might enter. We also insist that they inform us of any clientele that might be harming humans. The owner of The Dungeon is a rather polite demon by the name of Philip that puts on a strong presence but is really a nice chap. Fred will be perfectly safe."

Xander nodded, "Ok, I thought that's what you wanted to discuss, but since it's not, what's up?"

Wes seemed to consider things for a moment before saying, "I've been giving your other situation some thought and I was wondering what you might think to discussing it with The Charmed Ones."

Xander looked confused and asked, "Why would I do that?"

"Well," Wes said, "they do work for their own set of higher beings, The Elders, I believe they're called. Perhaps they might be able to intervene in some way on our behalf."

"If they could wouldn't they have done that by now," Giles asked still close enough to hear what was being said and inviting himself into the conversation.

Wes didn't mind at all and said, "Again it comes down to Free Will. The Elders can't interfere because no one's ever asked. But if we do perhaps it will compel them to action. It certainly couldn't hurt our situation."

"You're right about that," Xander said, "can't get much worse than them wanting me dead."

He turned to Giles and asked, "What do you think?"

Giles considered it for a moment and then said, "I think it's definitely worth considering. We should do so as soon as we get this current situation in hand."

Xander nodded and said, "Thanks Wes, at least it gives us something to do, even if it doesn't work."

"Yes, well," Wes said, "let's hope that it does."

The other two men nodded and then moved off to their tasks, none of them noticing the slight twinkle of the light in the room.

*****

Outside Time and Space

"The One Who Sees will not obey," one of the figures said as they watched to proceedings in Xander's hotel room through their powers.

"The magic we gave Whistler to use upon him should have sent him running from this fight. It was his own worst fears," another said.

"His friends would not let him," yet another said, "Almost immediately the Witch and the Slayer were upon him, whispering their love and encouragement. The magic never had a chance to fully fester within him."

"Then the Council head finished what they began, destroying it entirely," Another of the Powers said. The others were nodding their heads in agreement.

"The Council head has betrayed his calling," another said. In all there were a dozen beings that made up The Powers That Be. Each individually was powerful enough to alter time and space at their leisure, together their power was second only to the Creator.

"The lost Watcher suggests treason against us. He must be punished along with the One Who Sees. We cannot permit them to go to The Elders. Our champions are our own, not theirs."

"Our path is clear," another female Power spoke up, "The Protector of Man must be made an example of. All he holds dear must be eradicated before his eyes. He must be broken and defeated before he is wiped from existence. He must forever serve as a lesson to those that belong to the Powers as Champions that disobedience cannot be permitted."

"Agreed," another Power said, "our plans cannot be further corrupted by mere humans. Control must be returned to where it belongs."

"Amazing," another voice said, causing all The Powers to turn as one, "All your accumulated power and knowledge and you still don't know when to leave well enough alone."

"You were not summoned here Seraphim," one of The Powers said, an arrogant sneer crossing his face, "Why have you invaded our dominion, and in that ridiculous form?"

The man, now identified as a Seraphim smiled and said, "I found the likeness charming, and the movie was quite humorous, by human standards."

The Powers milled about confused and finally one of them said, "Be gone, we have no time for your games."

"I'm here working," the Seraphim said, all joviality leaving his voice, "The Creator wants to know why you are overstepping your bounds."

"We do not answer to you, right hand, we obey The Creator's commands and do our duty," one of the Powers said, arrogance clear in his voice.

"Do you think me blind," the angel asked, looking at them all as if they were mad, "I am not here on my whim, The Creator has commanded me here to bring you back on track. You have been given the chance to correct your errors, and yet you have no learned. Now I am here to correct your mistakes and put you back on the path your responsibility requires. The Creator wills me here and that you obey."

Another of The Powers stepped forward, clearly unconvinced, "If the Creator wishes an audience with Us then let the Creator appear. We do not obey the ramblings of mere angels."

The angel actually looked shocked speechless at the arrogance those words carried. Suddenly he realized that the problem was even greater than he had thought. Obviously the Creator understood, but had sent him here to correct this problem.

It was obvious The Powers That Be had grown drunk with their power and thought themselves equal to God; an error that needed to be corrected.

He moved to say something else and they all turned as one, pointing their hands at the Angel and blasted him with all of their power at once. Speaking in tandem they said, "Be gone Voice, your presence is no longer required. We answer to the Creator alone."

With that the Seraphim known as Metatron vanished from the plane of existence the Powers existed within.

That business completed they turned back to their window into the earth realm and began discussing how they would deal with Carpenter that presumed to try and get their Champions to exercise free will.

As if they were entitled to choose.

Suddenly there was an explosion as a column of fire appeared in the middle of their circle, destroying their window in the process. The force of the divine explosion actually blasted all of them from their feet and sent them sprawling to what served as the ground.

"BEHOLD THE METATRON," a voice boomed from the fire column, "HERALD OF THE ALMIGHTY AND VOICE OF THE ONE TRUE GOD!"

The fire died away leaving Metatron standing in its wake. Gone was the fragile human form he had assumed of the actor that had portrayed him in a movie. Instead he stood in his true form. More than eight feet tall and wearing armor he had not worn since his battle against the Morningstar in Lucifer's failed attempt to take over heaven.

The Powers reacted immediately, all attacking at once with all the power they had. This time their intent was not to merely remove this annoyance from their presence, but to destroy it.

Their power, great as it may be was nothing to the power of Metatron acting on his God's command. The combined efforts of the Powers served only to exhaust them as their power was drained like a battery hooked directly to ground.

Their attack ended and they tried to regroup, and fire another volley at the Angel but nothing happened. Confusion and fear marred their features as they tried to figure out what could possibly interfere with their power.

Metatron shook his head at their blindness and said, simply, "The Boss would like a word with you all."

With that Metatron and the Powers That Be, vanished from the realm created to serve as their base of operations as they waged the war against evil for Earth and all sentient life forms in the universe. A war they had betrayed time and time again for their own machinations. A realm which ceased to exist as the final Power was teleported to an audience with the Creator.

*****

The Powers appeared on what could only be described as a floor in the clouds. There were no walls or ceiling, only blue sky and white clouds as far as the eye could see. Around them they saw divine beings from other dimensions, as well as their own standing there watching them with a critical eye.

The twelve Powers stood in shock until finally one demanded, "By what right have we been called here?"

Metatron appeared and spoke formally as he said, "You stand here accused of disobeying your Creator, betrayal of your sacred duty, and collaboration with the enemy," the Seraphim looked over them all and asked, "To these charges what say you?"

"Lies," they said almost as one, "We have done what we were ordered, and who are you, Seraphim to question us," the Powers examined the other deities and said, "Who are any of you. You abandoned the Earth Realm. Only we remained to protect it, on what authority do you now question our efforts."

Suddenly there was a flash of light and a shape; vaguely similar to the others appeared however this one was made of pure light, so pure only the divinity of those in its presence enabled them to look at it. As one every being present, good, evil, and neutral dropped to their knee.

Suddenly the Powers realized they were in serious trouble, and all of their earlier bluster vanished as if it had never been. There was no way the Creator would be present unless Metatron's actions were sanctioned by the Creator. Their arrogance at once turned to fear and they tried to figure out what had gone wrong.

Metatron rose from his knee and said, "Let the five come forward."

There was a small bustle of activity as five figures approached Metatron and stood in front of the Powers. Each of the five beings represented an aspect of creation; one of good, one of evil, one that was neutral, one that was Change, and one of Balance.

When the five stepped forward the Powers, if it were possible were filled with even greater fear. The last time an entity stood before a tribunal of five was after the second war in heaven. Pyriel had paid dearly for his efforts to destroy humanity. After his defeat at the hands of the half-angel Danyel the Tribunal had declared him guilty of treason against God and he had been eradicated from existence as punishment. Not sent to hell, but simply gone.

Like a crashing blow they realized the errors they had made and would have given anything to undo it. Wondering suddenly how they could have been so blind.

Metatron appeared oblivious to the thoughts of the Powers even though as God's right hand he was second in power only to the Creator, and could easily listen in on their thoughts. In a way he felt bad for his brothers and sisters but they had endangered the fundamental rights of humans and needed to be punished. True they had been influenced, their own innate arrogance in their superiority of humanity had been exploited, but they had chosen the path they had taken. They had brought this upon themselves.

The Powers looked over their judges and wondered what would happen to them as they did, placing names in their minds with their place in the Tribunal.

Jesus himself stood as a representative of Good. They knew he would be fair but firm.

Next to him stood the Morningstar; second in evil only to The First itself. Lucifer, hated rules; preferring to take souls without needing to resort to manipulation. In his mind humans were naturally going to fall, so what was the point in rules? However that didn't mean he didn't know how to use them to exploit the weaknesses of man, just as his Master had taught him

Standing with those two were other deities, each representing the forces of balance, neutrality, and chaos. Each of the five would stand in judgment of the Powers.

The Powers stood fearfully, as Metatron spoke to the five judges, "Tribunal, you have heard the charges, and are aware of the evidence against them, what say you?"

Jesus looked at the Powers and said, "You were given a sacred trust, you broke it. Guilty."

Lucifer seemed bored with the proceedings and simply said, "Guilty." It wasn't the way he wanted to go, but in the presence of the Creator no one could lie, nor could they take any action that was not honest and true. Even though Lucifer would have loved to see the Powers continue in their course because it served him so well, in God's presence he had no alternative but to rule honestly.

"We did what was needed to protect humanity and the other sentient beings of the Universe. Balance was the only option we had," one of the Powers pleaded.

Alator, the sea god, shook his head and said, "Balance, while important and necessary was not your purpose, the judgment can only be guilty."

Janus was next as Chaos and Change was often times hand in hand. He looked over at the accused Powers and said, "You failed us all, Guilty."

One of the Powers, not able to take it anymore screamed at Janus, "This is your fault Chaos god. If you hadn't interfered with the Protector of Man none of this would have happened. We were trying to protect humanity. Your interference is what jeopardized our plans. It is you who should be standing here, not us."

The other powers nodded, grabbing onto any thread that would spare them.

Janus moved to speak but the bright light of the Creator pulsated and Metatron spoke, "Your purpose, your command was to protect humanity by defeating evil, not to join into an agreement with Evil to achieve an unwinnable balance between it and good."

"It was our only choice," a female Power stated, "Humanity is not capable of the level of sacrifice necessary to defeat evil. Mortal sentience is too weak to do this. We achieved balance because it was the only choice. Otherwise all would have been lost. Think of the millions we have saved by doing this."

Metatron shook his head sadly, "Humanity has proven time and time again that it is capable of defeating evil. Look how many times the Protector of Man and his friends you so despise have saved the Earth from Armageddon. He is special, but not unique, there are many great ones on Earth that could lead the war against Evil, and drive it," he indicated the First, "out for all time. Yet you did not support them, why?"

The Powers looked over one another, shame filling all of them as one of them said, "We didn't have faith in them, because they are so weak."

Metatron shook his head and turned away as he said, "And that is why you failed, because you never understood those you protect to begin with." He turned to the Chaos god and said, "Janus, while his methods are less than desirable, did what you never could, gave man a true chance."

Metatron then turned to the representative of Balance who looked at the Powers and said, "While Balance was your stated goal you accomplished it by very unbalanced methods. You allowed countless innocent lives to be sacrificed and indeed at times orchestrated the deaths of servants of good to accomplish your precious balance. That is not balance at all, that is Chaos of the worst kind, for how can you consider it balance when to kill what you were meant to protect. Guilty."

The assembled Gods and Goddesses were not surprised by the judgment, having known this was coming for eons, yet a ripple of shock still moved through their assembled numbers.

Metatron bowed his head to the Tribunal and said, "Many thanks for your service," the five representatives bowed their heads respectfully and moved away as Metatron turned once again to the Creator.

*****

Wesley entered The Dungeon warily, leading Fred, Ellie, and her father into the bar. The drive had been slightly tense, as Ellie's father had peppered Wesley with questions about what his daughter did and the dangers involved. Apparently Ellie had sugar coated the dangers when she had talked to her father. Something Wesley could understand but not necessarily agree with.

Wesley went to the bartender and pulled out a picture taken in the late 1800's of Jack and questioned the human looking man while Fred watched his back and Ellie and Brass kept an eye on the patrons.

Brass was struck by how even the tension he felt was no different than any other place he'd come into looking for information. He was surprised to realize that the patrons were treating Wes, Fred, and Ellie like they were cops. Apparently the claim that they patrolled the demon world like he patrolled the human world was a lot closer to reality than he realized.

Wesley made a few comments to the bartender who nodded and Wesley handed the man some money and thanked him for his time.

Wesley moved out quickly and Jim and Ellie were the last ones out, instinctively protecting one another with their presence. It was interesting to see his own motions mirrored in his daughter. She'd changed so very much.

After they left and were back in the car Wesley said, "Munz recognized the photo, said he thought he'd heard our man mention staying at low rent place over a few blocks."

"Munz," Brass asked as Wesley pulled out his cell phone to call Gunn and Kate.

Fred looked at the captain and said, "Munz stands for Munzaposal. It's a type of demon. He goes by Munz because, well, he thinks it's funny."

Jim looked at her even more puzzled and the woman shrugged, "I didn't say it was, just that he thought it was."

"Ah," was all Brass had to say.

Wesley hung up the phone and said, "Gunn and Kate are nearby. They said they'd meet us at the motel. We should be there in a few moments."

They arrived a few minutes later as promised and Wesley turned around and looked at Brass and said, "Captain, your pistol is 9mm correct?"

"Yeah," Brass said, "Why?"

"Wesley reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a .45 and handed it to the Captain along with two clips of the ammo Xander had created, "Here, Xander has created ammunition that works against demons. Normal bullets will generally not harm them. I warn you the ammo is quite potent so if you have to use your weapon be sure of your target."

Brass took the weapon and flashed back to the worst time in his life, when he'd discovered he'd shot a fellow officer. He looked Wesley in the eyes intently and said, "I always make sure of my target."

Wesley nodded and got out of the car with the others following suit.

Gunn and Kate met up with them and Gunn said, "Got the room key from the guy that runs this pit, said he was happy to help us."

Wesley snorted, "I'm sure it had nothing to do with not wanting a visit from Angelus."

Gunn smiled, "Yeah I mean guy develops a rep like that and the next thing you know it follows him everywhere."

Brass realized he was missing something but Ellie simply rested her hand on his arm and said, "I'll tell you later."

The group approached the room and Wesley left Fred and Brass at the stairs to cover them in case anyone came out as they made their way to the room. Brass noted with some interest that the seemingly mousey woman suddenly had eyes like steel as she held her weapon at the ready. Once again he realized that none of these people were what they seemed.

Ellie and Gunn took up a position at the back, in case anyone jumped out of a window and Kate and Wesley went to the room itself.

After a moment to ensure Gunn and Ellie were in position Wesley nodded once to Kate and carefully inserted the key before kicking the door open and entering with Kate right behind him.

Brass' hand tightened on the pistol as he waited for the two people to give an all clear. Every instinct told him he should be making the entrance into the room but his head told him that these people were in their element here and he most decidedly wasn't. So he waited, barely breathing.

Finally Kate came back out and gave an all clear and they made their way to the room, Fred entered and made her way to the back window to let Ellie and Gunn know it was clear.

Wesley was looking through a bag and pulling out various files.

He laid them open one at a time and Brass was sickened by the pictures that were inside. Suddenly he recognized something in one of the photos and said, "That's the first Vegas crime scene." He sifted through the photos and said, "That's the victims' house and these," he held up several photos, "look like pictures of the victims."

Wesley nodded as he looked at a few more files and said, "This man is more sinister than we first thought. Apparently he studies his targets beforehand. He studies their home, where they feel safe." He looked up at Brass and said, "That indicates a more structured mind than we thought. We thought he was little more than a wild animal set loose, this indicates there's more to it than that."

Brass nodded and was about to say something when another folder caught his eye. He pulled it out and opened it. What he saw inside made his blood run cold and he turned to Wesley who had the same look on his face. Unnecessarily Jim said, "That's your hotel, isn't it?"

Wesley was unable to speak as he simply nodded and pulled out photos of several of the people that were currently in the hotel.

"But why would he have these," Fred said, "Unless?"

They all realized what "unless" was and Jim summed it up, "Shit!"

"We got to get back to the hotel," Gunn said, already running for the door, pulling his cell phone out as he went. The others were quickly following behind him running for their vehicles.

Jim was dimly aware of Gunn trying to get through to the hotel and cursing at his inability to get through. Wesley was right beside Jim talking to Xander, apparently and telling him what was going on.

In his blood Jim knew that they were going to be too late.

*****

Metatron listened for a moment and then nodded, stepping back. The Creator pulsated once again before taking the form of a human woman, and she stepped lightly towards the Powers to stand before them. Each of them dropped to their knees, sorrow and fear filling their faces and hearts.

She stood there looking at them all, sadness filling her at how her children could have failed her so utterly. And finally she spoke for the first time, "I hoped you would correct your errors, learn from your mistakes, but I see, after your actions with Alexander, and again your attitude when The Voice came to you that you have been too long unguided. You must learn the only way possible, by experience."

One of the Powers, resigned acceptance clear in his voice asked, "But what will happen to our war now?"

God looked over her assembled children, the Gods and Goddesses she had created and said, "Many here will have to take up the cause and fix what you have broken," she turned and looked to the Elders, who knew that for a few lucky breaks it could just as easily be them standing judged, they weren't always too kind with their charges either.

The Elders kneeled respectfully under God's gaze as she said, "For now, the Elders shall take up your Champions, and lend them the aid that you failed to give."

The Elders nodded, knowing in their hearts that this was a test that they could not fail in or they would share whatever fate the Powers were about to suffer.

Finally God looked at the Powers, six male, six female and said, "Now you must begin your lessons. To earth, and so shall you be born of woman, to understand what it is to be of man."

The Powers vanished in a flash of light as their celestial powers and status was fully stripped from them and they were sent to earth.

God stared at the empty spot for a moment before turning to the Elders, "Learn from their mistakes."

The Elders nodded as the Creator turned from them. The other gods and goddesses recognized the cue for what it was and began vanishing back to their own Pantheons, wondering when and how their Creator would call on them to serve in the battle for humanity.

As they left the First stepped forward, "You're changing the rules, you know, you're giving me a lot of leeway. I'm practically being handed the realm they were supposed to be protecting."

The Creator spun on The First and said, "Not at all, this changes nothing, other than how good will respond to you, do not take this as license to overstep your bounds. Balance was never the intent. The Powers made that mistake and have paid the price for it. The war must continue true, but your limitations remain as they have always. Part of this was your doing; do not think I do not know that. Beware how far you push. You may have been a necessary creation but you have limits and rules as well. Follow them."

The First paled in the form it was currently in and realized that now was not the time for antagonizing. Even it knew better than that and it vanished, taking Lucifer and the other evils with it.

After they were gone Metatron said, "I understand true free will could have never existed without him, but sometimes I wonder if it was worth it."

God just looked at him and Metatron immediately lowered his eyes in submission and said, "Sorry, my Lord."

She smiled gently at him, feeling sorry for the Angel that for all his power was still limited in what he saw and knew, the truths of Creation however were her burden alone.

Instead she said, "The Elders, they will serve well?"

Metatron considered the question, he knew she knew already but he was unsure, "I believe they have had a warning and will begin treating their charges with the respect free will beings are due, but I don't imagine it will be easy for them, especially with their new responsibilities."

God nodded and said, "Alexander will need someone to explain this to him, make him understand what has happened and why."

Metatron nodded, "I know just the Individual to do so, he is ready to come home I think, he's learned his lesson, and he did well with Danyel against Pyriel. Gabriel will be perfect for this."

God nodded, "See to it Metatron."

The Seraphim nodded as God vanished, and he smiled in anticipation of what the Trumpeter would think of this.

And on Earth a dozen new born girls and boys were born into the world at the exact same moment, their cries heard around the world in supernatural circles as it heralded a new dawn in the battle for humanity and the earth.

AN: I haven't seen Prophecy 3, but I've decided from what little I know to play with that. Gabriel and Danyel were successful. Pyriel was stopped from ending the world, obviously. Danyel and his girlfriend go off to live happily ever after and make babies for the next generation and Gabriel, with his new appreciation of humanity is returned to the Angelic ranks; if that's what actually happened then Kudos for me. Don't worry this isn't going to turn into the Crossover that wouldn't die; I just needed some characters to perform a purpose and didn't feel like making them up…sue me.

*****

The Hyperion was quiet as Willow moved around the conference room with Cordelia and Dawn. They were all pissed but were covering it well as they went over, once again, all the information that they'd acquired since this began. Both women were ready to strangle Xander for leaving them behind.

Giles had taken notice of the two women's anger and so had quickly teleported back to England as soon as he could to get out of the line of fire. Willow hadn't been able to resist sticking her tongue out at him just before he vanished.

The look on his face had been priceless.

Sure, the truth was that the Furies did need Willow to help them with their healing, but that had been no reason to cut her out of the action completely. Sometimes Xander, with his chivalry could be really annoying.

In fact, the only person that seemed more pissed about it than Willow was Dawn. The young woman looked like she could spit fire with how dismissed she felt. Willow knew Dawn was offended that even though she wasn't a kid anymore; even though she was a major playing in the Council's dealings with evil, she was still sometimes looked at by the core group as little Dawnie that needed to be protected every time a Tuesday rolled around. It was offensive to the young woman and Willow could understand.

Cordelia apparently had taken it in stride and actually was happy to be given the responsibility to protect the Furies; a group that she had become quite close to in recent years. The fact was Cordelia's connection to the earth, thanks to Willow, making her a natural for communication with the ethereal sisters. Willow smiled at her own shock at the changes that Cordelia had gone through.

Willow's train of thought was broken by a slight tickle through her wards. She had already sensed the return of one of the CSI people. Stokes, was his name. She had felt it when the Fury had touched his mind and he'd made some lame excuse upon his return about wanting to interview the victims again. In reality she knew he just wanted to be close to the person that had brought his tortured soul some peace.

She hadn't blamed him and so had said nothing.

The tickle this time was hardly noticeable. In fact, if she hadn't been allowing her mind to wander a bit it wouldn't have been relaxed enough to notice and she'd of missed it completely, so subtle was the disturbance.

She looked at Dawn who was deep in thought as she worked on a program for something and decided not to disturb the girl.

She moved out into the lobby and checked the front and back doors, looking out into the courtyards with both magical and normal sight but there was nothing.

She next took a peek up the stairs to the landing above, but again found nothing. Her sight told her that then wall of protection she'd placed around the Furies' room was still in place.

Confused now Willow moved back down the stairs and checked the basement, checking that the lock was secured and that nothing had come through. Again there was nothing there and she was almost ready to chalk it up to nerves, almost. Years on the Hellmouth and the last few years had taught her that when your instincts told you something was wrong, it usually was.

She decided to go back into the conference room after more searching turned up nothing. She went behind the desk and grabbed a cup of tea and was just standing and turning when she came face to face with the man from the photos.

Jack the Ripper looked at Willow Rosenberg with lunacy and death in his eyes. One word escaped his lips as he looked at her with his murderous lust.

"Witch."


	13. Chapter 13

13. Paying the Piper

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: Well here it is, the long awaited fight with Jack. I couldn't decide who I wanted it to be, and then hit upon this. I hope you all enjoy it.

AN2: The explaination of magic in here is similar to the conversation of the Force between Willow and Dawn in the Nature Boy's starwars buffy crossover. If you like S.W. and Buffy you'll like this

ANYWAY, on with the show, and be kind. I did my best.

Willow had been fighting demons and monsters since she was fifteen years old. That was ten years of fighting for her life. Granted, the first few years she did more running and hiding than she did fighting but in the last few years Xander had made it a point to make sure that everyone could fight. Willow hadn't taken to it as quickly as everyone else, but Xander worked with her that much harder. After her kidnapping and near execution at the hands of the lunatic witch hunter Xander told her that he never again wanted her to be unarmed and helpless just because she couldn't do magic. It had been a humiliating experience for her, constantly ending up on her ass against her faster, stronger, and more experienced and knowledgeable best friend but it had worked. After nearly two years of constant working out and training Willow had become an expert in Krav Maga and Aikido.

Aikido for its ability to use a more powerful opponents strength against them and the Israeli combat form because it taught one to go for the weak points .

A few years ago Willow would have balked at the idea of learning to fight and to really hurt opponents, especially human opponents. She had grown up a lot however and knew that sometimes the only choice a person had was to fight.

What all this meant was that in that moment when Jack appeared before her Willow didn't freeze, like most people would, she attacked, viciously, and expertly.

She dropped her cup and before the china had shattered on the floor she had lashed out with stiffened fingers right into Jack's throat. Not waiting to see the effect the attack had on the murder she kicked out with a front kick to his knee followed by a knee to his face as he buckled under the attack to his joint, losing his balance and falling forward only to meet her knee with his nose.

Willow then spun and leaped over the counter, putting some distance between her and her attacker not even considering the possibility that her attack, while expertly executed had even come close to putting him on the ground permanently; Angel's warnings about his strength still fresh in her mind.

As Jack rose from the ground with murder in his eyes Willow considered her options. She had attacked the murderous monster that had butchered more than a dozen innocent families. He was hurt, but not really injured, and he was pissed. So she did what any self-respecting Scooby would do… she called for help.

"Dawn! Cordelia! He's here," She bellowed at the top of her lungs before she couldn't do anything anymore because he was reaching for her and she had to move.

He was nearly upon her when she spun while grabbing his out stretched arm and using it to direct his momentum and send him spinning to the ground in a heap.

She quickly bounced away, trying to figure out what to do even as she heard her two friends coming out of the conference room, weapons in hand.

Experimentally Willow formed a fire ball in her hand and threw it at him. Trying to see just how magic proof he really was. The fireball had absolutely no effect, the magical flame exploding against his chest but seemingly to no avail.

He laughed at her, the sound cold and ugly as Dawn and Cordelia came up beside her, sword and ax in hand respectively.

He looked at them all and said, "Magic doesn't work on me, witch. I'm going to enjoy destroying you all. Then I'll move onto those three bitches the vampire stopped me from killing before."

"That's not going to happen," Willow said calmly, calling up her defenses.

The demonic assassin just chuckled and said, "You think you can stop me," he squared his shoulders as he looked down at the three of them, looking all the more massive for the malice on his face. He grinned evilly and said, "You're weaker than me, you're slower than me, and your magic is useless. Not even your precious wards or defenses can stop me. What do you think you can do?"

Willow answered his laugh with one of her own, "I'll think of something," she said, looking around the room and focusing on all the little boxes she had placed earlier. As her senses locked onto the boxes and the contents within she looked directly into his eyes and said, "Have you ever seen what happens to a tree when it's hit by a nail moving at three hundred miles an hour?"

Jack suddenly lost his grin as Willow said, "It's about like being hit by a bullet."

Suddenly Jack's screams were all that could be heard as his body was pierced by the more than four hundred penny-nails Willow had placed around the room moving at the speed of a tornado.

*****

Xander was cursing like a sailor as he and Angel ran for the car they had driven to the industrial area. He couldn't believe his own stupidity. He should have guessed that Jack had been smarter than they'd given him credit for. Just because he was an animal when he killed didn't mean he was an animal all the time.

Xander leapt into the passenger seat as Angel hit the driver's; Xander might be impatient to get there, but this was Angel's city and he'd know all the short cuts.

Not that it mattered. According to Gunn and Wesley they were more than 30 minutes away, and he and Angel were at least that far. If Jack went after the Hyperion there was nothing he could do. The fact that no one was answering the phones at the hotel didn't seem too promising. Finally, after his third try at reaching the hotel and getting nothing Xander started dialing Dawn, Willow, and Cordelia on their cells. He just hoped the problem was the Hyperion phone lines and nothing else.

As Willow's cell rang and rang he looked over at Angel who didn't say anything just pressed his foot further to the floor.

*****

Willow had no illusions that her little gambit had worked. True, most things would have a hard time recovering from being hit by over 400 nails moving at 500 feet per second, but nails weren't bullets, and they certainly weren't Xander's exploding rounds. They'd do massive damage but Jack had certainly survived worse.

Her hope was that he'd at least be neutralized long enough for the others to get there and help them take care of him. She knew Xander wanted him dead, eventually, but he and Giles both would also wanted to know who his contact in the Council was. That meant they were in the unenviable position of trying to keep him down without making him dead.

The sound of Willow's cell phone ringing in the conference room startled all of them. Willow looked to Dawn and with a nod of her head indicated she should go answer it. Of the three of them Willow was still the one with the most tricks up her sleeve so she needed to stay and watch over their prisoner, who even now was beginning to stir and move, albeit slowly.

Dawn moved into the conference room and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Dawn," Xander's near frantic voice came through the ear piece, "are you guys alright?"

"He's here, Xander, we got him," Dawn said, sounding a little pleased with herself.

"Where is he," Xander asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly, "We heard fighting and came out and found Willow facing off with him. She used that new spell of hers and he went down."

Dawn was looking out into the lobby, and could just barely make out what Willow and Cordelia were saying; something about "restraints" and "until the others get here."

She was so intent on listening to them she almost missed what Xander was saying, but the outright fear in his voice made her pay attention, "What did you say," she asked one of her best friends.

"I said, stay away from him. His regenerative powers are faster than even Angel's. If he's still got his head attached to his neck and he's still down then he's playing possum. Stay away from him!"

The fear shot through the former Key like a jolt of lightning. She dropped the phone and ran to the doorway, "Cordy, get away from him he's faking!"

The Seer turned to Dawn and didn't even have a chance to turn back before Jack snapped up and hit her so hard her body literally left the ground and sailed like a rag doll back towards Dawn and Willow.

Willow reacted on instinct, reaching out with her magic and arresting the Seer's trajectory, and then sending her into the conference room. The action had the added bonus of forcing Dawn back into the room as well. She caught Cordy's limp form and was just able to see Jack storming up to Willow before the witch's magic slammed and locked the door. No one would be getting in or out of there unless Willow wanted them too. That fact didn't stop Dawn from gently lowering Cordelia to the ground and checking that she was still alive before she began pounding on the door in frustration.

*****

Xander looked at the phone in shock and horror, having heard everything up to the door slamming before the phone was cut off.

"Son of a bitch," he yelled in a rare moment of profanity. He disconnected the line before dialing Gunn's number. The phone was answered on the first ring, "Hello?" the stressed voice of the former street tough came through.

"Gunn," Xander said, "he's there. He's there now. How far close are you?"

There was a moment's pause before Gunn's defeated voice came back, "Not close enough."

Xander's grip nearly crushed the phone before he said, "You got to go faster man, you got to."

Gunn acknowledged the order before disconnecting. Xander looked over at Angel and said, "They're not going to make it, are they?"

Angel didn't answer, because to answer would make the truth they both realized all too real.

*****

"That was a neat trick," Jack said as he again kicked Willow in the ribs, sending her sliding across the floor, "But it won't do any good. I'll finish you quick, but you're going to die knowing that your two friends will take hours. You're going to die knowing that all your powerful magic was meaningless against me. You had you're one shot and you wasted it on carpentry. That's pathetic."

Willow had slowly risen to her feet while he spoke, clutching what she was sure was some broken ribs. Anger, rage, and every other dark emotion raced through her at his words and she reflexively forced them down even as a slow kernel of forgotten knowledge started trying to take root.

*****

Nick Stokes had heard the commotion and finally came running. He'd made sure to activate the "spell" just as Willow had taught him to secure the Furies room. The door was made of solid steel and the magical lock was designed to not open if it sensed evil intent. Again it was, according to what Willow told him, a way to get around someone that was resistant to magic.

Nick came to the top of the stairs and froze at what he saw.

Willow was on the ground, obviously hurt and a man was standing over her, mocking her as he kicked her, hard. Nick didn't need to see any more and he ran down the stairs and placed himself between the madman and the slowly standing Willow. He heard Willow try to say something before the man came at them both and Nick acting on drilled instincts acted to protect himself and an innocent person and fired off round after round from his gun into their attacker.

Nick had never fired his weapon in a real situation before, and on some level his conscience was screaming at him that he was killing someone, but another part, the primal part told him to keep pulling the trigger and that's what he did.

He emptied a full magazine into the guy in less than five seconds. Training took over and he advanced on the now down man to check for vitals. He'd barely kneeled down when he was hit by what felt like a sledge hammer and his world went dark.

*****

Willow tried to warn Nick to be careful but she was too busy trying to breath, and couldn't get the words out. She felt the pain as Nick caught a punch to the side of the head that lifted him off the ground and dumped him unceremoniously like a sack of potatoes.

She screamed inside her head as she realized what had happened and why, he was just trying to protect her, to help and this was what he got for his efforts. She fell to her knees in numb shock and sorrow, realizing she wasn't strong enough and people were going to die because she'd failed.

*****

Sara's knees buckled and she grabbed her head in pain. Gil was at her side in an instant calling her name as she desperately tried to make sense of the nightmare images that were flashing across her mind's eye. She saw the Furies, left like all the other victims. She saw Willow, Dawn, and Cordelia; the witch killed quickly, the other two taken and killed slowly, screaming for help the entire time. Finally she saw Nick, broken and bleeding, his life slipping away on a hard floor with no one there to comfort him. The last image was the Hyperion, and she realized, somehow, that this was happening now.

Sara's vision cleared and she looked up into Gil's eyes, tears and fear in her own and said, "Someone's going after Nick."

The words froze Gil Grissom in place for a second, a second in which he was once again faced with the horror of losing someone from his team. It had happened once, and he swore then that it would never happen again.

The rest of his team had come from various parts of the lab when word had reached them quickly that their supervisor needed them. Absentmindedly Grissom wondered about the people that worked in this lab. They were all professionals but they didn't seem shocked at all by either the presence of the Las Vegas team, or the evidence which they were processing. He made a mental note to talk to Xander about this, but right now more important things needed to be dealt with.

"Sara's had a vision," Grissom said, "Nick's in trouble."

That was all they needed to hear as they turned and practically ran for the door. Gil helped Sara to her feet and the director of the lab came forward and said, "I've just received a call from Agent Harris, something's happened at his base of operations."

Grissom nodded, "We know we need to go."

The director looked troubled and said, "Agent Harris wanted me to tell you to stay here and that he would take care of it," Grissom started to speak but the director cut him off, "However I see you're a man that takes care of his people, just as I am, I've got a half-dozen of our special ops people out front waiting for you, use them if you need them."

Grissom nodded and moved out with Sara beside him.

The director shook his head and said, "You were right Xander, these people are exactly what we need to get this operation off the ground"

He moved back to his office so he could call his boss and tell Director Finn that the Supernatural Forensics Department was going to work just fine, as long as they could find more people like Gil Grissom and his team.

*****

Willow wasn't certain if she was alive or dead, her vision was dark and she couldn't sense anything around her. Suddenly, when she was ready to accept her own death a figure slowly began to emerge in front of her.

Slowly she began to recognize who she was seeing and she nearly cried as she saw the image of Mistress Harkness, the leader of the Devon Coven and one of her most important trainers when she was trying to get clean after her Darth Willow incident.

Mistress Harkness stared at Willow with the air of disapproval that only a mother could attain and suddenly Willow knew what it must have felt like for Buffy to have Joyce look at her like that. It was disquieting to say the least.

"Mistress Harkness," Willow began.

The older witch just raised her hands, "Willow you still haven't learned."

"What, but I've been good I've only used White Magic I promise," Willow felt like she was back in high school, all her confidence stripped away.

Harkness shook her head, "How many times did I tell you, Willow, that it's you who are black or white, not the magic. You decide what the magic becomes; will it serve the white or the black by what your intentions are. Because you never learned that lesson you've locked away part of yourself and you'll never reach your full potential like that."

"Locked myself away," Willow asked, confused.

Harkness raised her chin in the direction behind Willow and she turned and saw herself, hair black, eyes, black, veins, and a sneer. Willow jumped back in alarm before she realized that this doppelganger was encased in crystal, imprisoned.

Willow looked at Mistress Harkness and said, "But she was evil, I had to lock her away."

Harkness just shook her head, "No child, all you locked away was part of yourself, and part of your magic."

"The evil part," Willow said defensively.

Again Harkness shook her head, "No, not the evil part. There is no evil in magic."

Willow scoffed, "I lived on the Hellmouth lady, don't tell me there isn't evil in magic."

Harkness looked amused at Willow's outburst and suddenly the young redhead was embarrassed by her attitude and moved to apologize, but Harkness raised her hand to stop her.

"Willow," the older witch began, "There is evil magic at the Hellmouth of course, but that is because of the evil itself. The evil of hell taints the magic; taints it with the evil intent of millions and millions of damned souls and demons within hell. The Hellmouth's evil magic is the direct manifestation of the darkness that gave birth to the Hellmouth and to Hell itself."

"You mean the devil," Willow asked.

"No," Harkness said, "the thing that came before Lucifer's fall."

Willow looked at her, shocked and said, "You mean The First, don't you?"

Harkness just stared at her, waiting for her to put the pieces together.

"The First is evil, the beginning of it. It made everything else that's evil," Harkness looked at her and Willow corrected herself, "No; it didn't make them, because it couldn't make anything. It corrupted them. Lucifer was an angel until he chose to try to take over heaven. The First corrupted him, made him evil because he gave into the evil nature within him."

Harkness smiled in approval and encouragement so Willow continued, "Everything evil in the world is because humans or demons choose to do evil. It's their intent that creates the evil because evil lies in the hearts of everyone."

Harkness remained silent so Willow just kept going, "I'm human, that means I have good and evil inside me. I have to choose which one I want to use and whichever one I do choose that is what will become of my magic. I took the magic from Giles; it was good magic, white magic, your white magic, and the coven's. Your intention was to infuse me with magic filled with life. But even after I had that magic inside me I was still able to use it for evil because that's what I chose to do with it. It was Xander that reached me and let me feel what you had done with the magic, and let me stop myself."

Harkness smiled broadly and said, "Yes Willow, now you understand."

Willow smiled back then looked at her evil self encased in crystal, "So what is she?"

"She," Harkness said, approaching the crystal "is what your mind thinks is evil magic. It's a part of your magic that you've locked away because you're afraid of what you can do," the witch looked at Willow and said, "We need to be honest here, Willow, you scare us."

Willow looked ashamed again and Harkness was quick to stop the shame, "Not because of what you've done but because of what you can be. You have the potential to be one of the most powerful beings of magic that has walked the earth in more than ten million years."

"What?!"

Harkness smiled and waved her hand causing the image of a man to appear. Willow studied the image, the blue eyes, the sandy hair, the intelligence in the eyes. She looked at Harkness who said to her unasked question, "There is more to human history than even Rupert knows," she looked at the image and said, "His name is Dr. Daniel Jackson. Study his theories, find him and he will help you to understand."

"How can I find him," Willow asked, ignoring the obvious.

"Ask your friend Paul Davis, he will help you get in touch with Daniel. One thing, his theories, Willow, are correct. Remember that."

Willow was confused by that statement but figured it would become clear in time. Suddenly, as if remembering a dream Willow looked at her other self encased in Crystal and asked, "What about her?"

"That, dear child, is up to you."

Willow looked at her teacher and nodded her head. She walked carefully up to the crystal and, hesitating for a moment before squaring her shoulders she touched the crystal and it evaporated.

Dark Willow stumbled for a moment before looking at Willow and sneering, "What do you want?"

Willow smiled, "To be whole."

Dark Willow's sneer softened and said, "Finally."

The two approached one another and embraced. There was a bright flash and Harkness actually had to cover her eyes. When she opened them again she was back in her small home in England, with two beings standing before her.

"It is done," the female being said. She looked at Harkness and said, "Thank you Mistress Harkness for allowing me to speak through you."

Harkness looked confused, "But why did you not simply speak to the child yourself, or simply take my form."

The female being shook her head, "I could not. Willow is already subconsciously ascended in her own way. If I had attempted to deceive her in such a way she would have seen through it immediately. She doesn't know me and would not have trusted me. You she trusts completely."

Harkness nodded her head, "Thank you for explaining it to me, Ancient one."

The female smiled and said, "You may use my name Mistress Harkness, we are among friends."

Harkness smiled, "Thank you, Oma."

Oma Desala smiled and said, "Are you ready to come home now?"

Harkness shook her head, "No, there is still much I can accomplish here. There are others, not nearly as far along as Willow, but there are others that will be ready to follow in her footsteps someday. I need to be here for them."

Oma nodded and then looked at her companion, his wings folded back neatly the Archangel met her gaze and she finally said, "The others are not going to like an ascended being existing and interfering with the lower planes."

Gabriel snorted and said, "That's not their call. The battle lines have been drawn, the balance is no longer relevant. Good is going to war with evil; everyone has to pick a side."

Oma Desala nodded, "And we will stand with the Creator as we have always done. I just said they weren't going to like it."

Gabriel shrugged, "The Boss knows more than we do. I had to learn the hard way to trust. If that's what needs to happen to a few of the Ascended then so be it."

Oma was shocked at the blatantly hostile statement but simply nodded, accepting it as the truth that it was. Things were going to get very interesting in the Earth Realm in the next few years, and she was going to have a ring side seat.

*****

Willow's vision cleared and she realized that everything that had just taken place did so in the space of a heartbeat. She finished rising to her feet, feeling renewed and energized. She felt and realized that she had an even greater connection to the Earth than she had even at her most powerful when she had gone dark.

Before she had been able to feel everyone and everything but all she had felt was pain. Now she realized that whereas before her connection was like a bad telephone connection, giving her only part of the conversation, how she had a satellite link to everyone and everything in the world. She felt their pain, but she also felt their hope. She felt their sorrow and joy, hate and love. She felt it all, and it gave her strength.

Jack seemed oblivious to her metamorphosis and grabbed her. She exploded into action, slipping from his grip and disappearing, only to reappear on the other side of the room.

"That tricks not going to save you witch. If you leave I'll go after your friends, if you stay you're going to eventually tire and I'll kill you."

"I just need to stall until my friends return," Willow said, bluffing.

"They won't come," Jack said, "They'll try, but there have been provisions made to stall them if they try. I've got all the time in the world."

Willow considered that for a moment and then reached out and felt it. Someone had put a shield around the Hyperion. It was powerful, to be sure. It would certainly keep her friends, with no access to a magical way of breaching it, out for as long as it was there. She thought about destroying it, she could, she realized, with but a thought, but she didn't. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to do it that way. She wanted to get her hands dirty, and destroying the shield would tip her hand and Jack might slip away again. She wanted this over with.

Then she felt it, felt Jack. She could feel him just like she felt everyone else in the world. As she was pulling away from him, his blackness she felt something, something trapped and alone and she suddenly realized the truth and realized why she couldn't just destroy him. She had to save him.

"It must be horrible for you," Jack said in mock sympathy, oblivious to Willow's thoughts "All that magic and you can't do a thing to stop me."

Willow allowed a predator's grin to cross her face, and realized absently that it was pure Dark Willow. Rather than be frightened by that thought she reveled in it because she felt more herself than she had in years.

She looked back at Jack and said, "you're mistake is assuming that just because you're magic proof that you're safe. The thing is that just because I can't do magic to you, doesn't mean I can't do it to myself," with that she lowered her head and lifted her hands, speaking a spell she hadn't spoken since her fight with Buffy at the Magic Box.

As the spell finished she looked back up at Jack and said, "There, now I'm pretty sure I'm strong enough to beat you to death."

Jack howled in rage and ran to her and let go with a devastating punch that would have knocked her head off, if it had connected. Willow brought her hand up and caught the fist in the air and it stopped dead. Willow's calm eyes met Jack's shocked ones and she said, "Time for your lesson."

*****

Xander and Angel pulled up in front of the Hyperion, tires screeching as Angel slammed the car into park before it was fully stopped. Both jumped out of the car and ran for the door fearful of what they'd find when they got there. Of course they never made it as they slammed into shield of some kind.

Xander hit the ground and then noticed that the others were there as well.

Grissom came over and helped him up, "Nobody can get in, what is it?"

Xander looked around and ran his hand over the shield and said, "It's a shield spell, it's for protection. Damn it!"

He looked at the men in combat gear and called one of them over. The man ran over and saluted and said, "Agent Harris, we were told to report to you when you arrived."

Xander nodded and said, "Report."

"The entire building is covered, sir," the man answered, "including underground access. Whoever is inside doesn't want to be bothered."

"God," Xander said, "what's happening in there?"

He pulled his phone out and Gil looked at him confused as the rest of the Angel crew came over.

"Who are you calling," Grissom asked, worried about his guy.

Xander shrugged, "When you have a magic problem you call magic professionals," he stopped when whoever was on the other end picked up.

"Mistress Harkness," Xander said desperation clear in his voice, "I need the Coven's help."

*****

Dawn stood there both amazed and terrified as she watched Jack and Willow slug it out. It was obvious that Willow was just as strong, if not stronger than Jack. His near animalistic rage however made him a force to be feared and it was only Willow's superior fight training that was keeping her from getting torn to shreds.

Dawn shivered as she saw the look of murder in Jack's eyes and realized he wasn't going to stop until he was dead, or Willow was.

What Dawn could not understand is why Willow had used this spell in the first place. She had always told Dawn that it was a dark spell, and that she had only used it so she could beat Buffy. She had said she'd never use such a spell again because she wasn't a black magic used anymore.

Apparently her friend had changed her mind because she had not only used it, but apparently improved on it. The entire situation spoke of just how desperate a situation they were all in.

The one thing that really scared Dawn was the fact that while Willow's hair was getting steadily lighter her eyes had grown steadily darker as the fight had progressed and she wondered if they were going to have a bigger problem on their hands once Jack was dealt with.

Finally Willow spun from one of Jack's all or nothing charges and then reached out and caught one of his arms. She continued to spin taking complete control of Jack's body as she did so before lifting him up into the air and then slamming him to the ground hard enough to crack the floor.

Jack wasn't given a chance to move before Willow held out both her arms and two steel re-bars were yanked from opposite walls, right through the plaster. The bars slammed into her hands and she spun each in her hand before burying them into Jack's shoulders, out his back, and into the floor beneath. A quick bend of both and she had him effectively pinned to the ground, helpless.

Willow stood back and breathed hard, trying to catch her breath and deal with the rush of power she felt. She drank it in and reveled in what it was like to finally be whole.

She could feel the dark half of her personality celebrating its own freedom and the violence it had been a part of. She crushed it down however and didn't take too great a pleasure in what she had just done. It had been somewhat enjoyable to do it this way, but it had also been necessary.

Willow sensed movement, both outside and near her. She broke the shield spell with a mere after thought and turned to Dawn and smiled.

The younger woman looked petrified and Willow knew why. The last time her eyes had looked like they do now, she'd tried to destroy the world.

She knelt down and said, "Dawn, its ok, it's me."

"B…but your eyes…" she trailed off, the fear evident.

Willow smiled and willed her eyes back to normal and said, "It's ok, really. I've finally realized something. Something I should have realized a long time ago."

"What's that," Dawn asked, figuring if Willow was talking, she wasn't destroying the world.

The doors busted open before Willow could answer and she said, "I'll tell you later, but I promise; I'm still me."

Everyone came rushing in, guns and weapons drawn to find everything, apparently taken care of. Gil and his team rushed over to Nick who wasn't stirring and he was obviously in need of medical attention as a result of the blow he'd taken. Willow looked over and said, "He might have a concussion." Xander looked him over and said to one of the guys in combat gear, "Get an ambulance here and take him to the hospital. Keep him under your protection until relieved."

"Yes, sir," the soldier nodded, saluted, and then went to carry out his orders.

Xander turned to Grissom and said, "He gets the best care, I promise."

Grissom nodded then looked at Willow and said, "What happened?"

"He tried to protect us, he was amazing. He bought me the time I needed to realize what I needed to do," Willow indicated the murderous Jack, still pinned to the ground.

Xander looked confused and worried and asked, "How'd you do it Will?"

Willow smiled, "Just a little help from a friend," she sobered and said, "But it's not over."

She looked over at Dawn and Cordelia, who was recovering from Jack's attack much better than Nick. Once again her connection to the earth benefiting the Seer who by all rights should still be unconscious.

Willow help out her hands and said, "Dawn, Cordelia, I need you."

"What are you doing Wills," Xander asked, still trying to figure out how Willow could have beaten Jack in a fight and not be steeped in the Dark Magic. He loved his Willow, but he didn't think it was possible to do this and not use black magic. That was what she had told him. Had she been wrong, or was she faking now. He wasn't sure but more than twenty years of friendship won out and he decided to trust her.

"I'm rescuing someone," Willow said, as Dawn and Cordy came to her and took her hands. She looked at them both and said, "Close your eyes, I need your help."

Both women, although nervous did as they were bid and Willow began chanting, her voice taking on a melody and soon the world passed away.

Cordelia suddenly felt the need to open her eyes and when she did she saw Willow, standing there in a white gown, her eyes black as night but her hair as white as her dress. Dawn was nowhere to be found but a mass of green energy was nearby, bouncing in what almost seemed like a dance.

"Dawn," Cordelia asked, confused. The energy bounced up and down once in answer.

Finally Cordelia looked at herself and realized she was also wearing a white gown of the softest, most white cloth she'd ever seen. She looked at Willow and asked, "Where are we?"

"Inside his mind," she said, pointing. Cordelia followed her finger and realized that Jack was still on the ground pinned. He looked at them and screamed, "I'll never be stopped, and I'll kill you all, you can be sure of that. I'll hunt down everyone you ever loved and kill them just because of what you did here. No one will be safe."

He continued in that vein and finally Willow said, "Oh, be quiet," like that Jack's mouth was suddenly filled with what looked like a big pink ball that muffled his threats to the point they could all think.

Cordelia notice that there were two other people present. One a man dressed in an impeccable suit, looking like aristocracy if she'd ever seen it. But with a glint of malevolence she'd only seen on the worst monsters she'd ever faced.

The other man was in a torn and tattered suit, locked in a cage. His knuckles and face were bruised and bloodied as if he'd been fighting but at the moment he was still and looking at the three of them with a mixture of hope, and confusion.

"Why are we here," Cordy asked, still not understanding. They'd beaten the bad guy; shouldn't they be dancing on his ashes?

As if reading her mind Willow said, "The man in the cage is the man that should own this body. The other two took over, and have kept him here ever since, making him watch the evil they've done."

"Huh," Cordy said. She could have sworn she heard Dawn's voice in her head saying the same thing.

Willow smiled and said, "Think a like a vampire, only without the being undead thing."

"Oh," the other two said, getting it at that.

"So what are we doing here," Cordelia asked, although already knowing the answer if she knew her friend.

"We're putting it right," Willow said, "He doesn't deserve to die for things he had no hand in. He should get the same chance at redemption that Angel has," she stopped and smiled almost sadly and said, "the same chance I do."

"You're sure," Cordelia asked unnecessarily.

Willow nodded, "You're here to lend him some of your connection to the Earth, to help him heal, Dawn's here because I'm planning on banishing these two somewhere that they can't hurt anyone ever again."

Willow must have sensed the confusion as to why she'd need either of them for that because she said, "I'm feeling a little tapped out; didn't want to push it."

Cordelia nodded at that and waited for whatever her part was as Willow approached the man in the suit.

Willow watched him cautiously. Although he really couldn't hurt her, at least she was ninety-nine percent sure he couldn't she was still cautious. Going into someone's mind was always tricky and you could hurt them easily if you weren't careful.

The suited man just smiled as she came up and said, "I imagine you're here to get rid of me."

Willow nodded.

"You think you can do it without killing him," he asked, an evil glint in his eye.

Willow tilted her head and in answer lifted her hand and suddenly the man found himself wrapped in metal bands that held him helplessly.

The man looked at the bands and then at Willow and said, "Yes, I figured as much," he shrugged as much as the bands would allow and said, "I always told him," he indicated Jack with his chin, "that one of these days we were going to get evicted. Idiot never listened to me."

"You're taking this rather well," Willow said.

Another partial shrug, "You've won, we lost. Besides, I'm not emotion, I'm intellect. Jack is the emotion run amok. You're going to have problems with the old boy," this time he indicated the man in the cage, "Once we're gone he's basically going to be an emotional disaster, you sure he's worth it?"

"He's innocent," Willow said in answer and the man smiled, "I suppose."

"You still seem too calm to me," Willow said, trying to figure out what she was missing.

The man smiled again and said, "You're not really getting rid of me. You're not really getting rid of either one of us, not really. Even if your green friend helps send us to the darkest corner of hell we won't really be gone. He's human, at least half. That means he'll always have a dark side, just like everyone else. We'll still be here down deep. We're always going to be a part of him. You're getting rid of the personalities that took over, but you're never going to get rid of the emotions that created us in the first place; you're just putting them back under his control. He'll never be rid of us completely though because he couldn't function without us. You know it, and he'll always know it too. I take pleasure in that."

Willow couldn't think of anything to say to that and so didn't try to say anything at all. Instead she looked over to Dawn and nodded her head. Suddenly a portal sprang to life and without preamble Willow flicked her wrist at both Jack and the suited man and sent them both hurtling into it. Jack's scream of defiant rage echoing through the mind space until the portal slammed shut.

Cordelia looked at Willow and said, "Now what?"

Willow walked to the cage and with a wave of her hand shattered it into a million pieces. The man fell forward on his face and slowly, pulled himself into a sitting position. Willow knelt down in front of him and met his eyes and watched the exact moment as all the memories and acts committed by Jack and the other one integrated themselves suddenly and completely into the man's psyche. Now it wasn't things he'd watched, but things he'd done, and enjoyed.

The man bent back over and made retching sounds that were almost painful to even listen to.

Willow turned to Cordelia and held her hand out to her. Cordelia took the hand without hesitation and felt some of her energy flowing out of her. She was able to watch as it flowed through Willow and into the man, seeming to calm and strengthen him.

After a few moments Willow released Cordelia's hand and smiled gratefully at her; Cordelia giving her a smile of her own.

The man lifted his head and said, "I don't think I can go on."

Willow shook her head, "You have to," she said, almost imploringly, "If you don't they win. You can't allow that."

She took his hand and forced him to stand and said, "Before all of this, you had a dream, you wanted to help people, didn't you?"

The man nodded, uncertain of where she was going with this. Willow said, "Now you have a chance to make that dream a reality. There are plenty of people out there that need help and you can help us to give it to them."

"But the things I've done…" he said, unable to even finish the thought.

"Wasn't you," Willow said simply, as if that was all that needed to be said.

He looked at her, confusion and disbelief evident on his face. Willow smiled and realized he needed some good old fashioned reassurance.

"I tried to end the world," she explained, "One of my best friends is a vampire with a soul once known as the Scourge or Europe. If we can earn our redemption then so can you."

"I'm really free," he asked, seeming to actually be willing to believe it for the first time.

Willow nodded, "As free as you want to be."

He nodded and said, "I want it."

Willow smiled and said, "What's your name?"

"Jack called himself, Stephen, when he was trying to present the persona of a gentleman, my given name was Arthur."

"Well, Arthur," Willow said, gathering her magic together, "welcome home."

There was another flash of light and Cordelia opened her eyes to find she was back in the lobby. Everyone was milling about, confused as to what had just happened. Jack, or rather Arthur was suddenly very quiet, and still, moaning slightly in pain, obviously from the beating he'd just taken and the re-bar.

Willow looked at the man that had once been an enemy and with a thought made the re-bar vanish, and with it Arthur as well.

She had teleported him to one of the rooms upstairs. She hoped he'd have the good sense to take the hint and settle in until she was ready for him.

Xander looked upset and confused and said, "Where is he Will?"

"Somewhere that he'll never be able to harm anyone, ever again."

Xander didn't seem to really like the answer but he looked like he would accept it for now. He had things to deal with and she knew he'd be busy for a while. She looked at both Dawn and Cordelia, who were clearing their heads and said, "Don't say anything to Xander about what we just did. I'll take care of it."

Dawn just looked skeptical and said, "You better, because he's impossible to deal with when he's like this."

Cordelia nodded her agreement and went to her team to help them try to clean up the mess that had once been their place of business.

Dawn headed for the conference room, saying something about calling Giles. Willow watched her go for a moment before turning to move up the stairs for some much needed rest.

*****

Grissom sat in the hospital room watching Nick sleep. Willow had been correct about the concussion, but it had been much worse than they had first thought. An MRI had revealed that there was a blood vessel that was leaking, putting pressure on his brain and emergency surgery to give the blood somewhere to go had been necessary in order to save Nick's life.

That had been three days ago and they were still waiting for Nick to wake up. His parent's had flown in, his mother hadn't been able to take it and hadn't been able to sit in the room for more than a few minutes. Judge Stokes was a little calmer about the whole thing but Gil could tell that they were laying some of the blame for this on him. This was the second time their son had been in mortal danger and they needed someone to blame. Gil was happy to oblige them.

Things had been hopping since Jack's ultimate defeat. He was still a little unsure of exactly what Willow had done but one thing he was sure of was that Jack the Ripper was gone for good. That was at least something he could tell his team, although right now it didn't seem like it meant a whole lot.

Grissom considered his people and realized that Catherine had been right. They were a family; there was no doubt about it. The thing was Grissom had finally come to realize that a family was exactly what he'd always been craving. It was the one thing he didn't have and had never thought he needed, until now.

Sara was sleeping next to him and he looked over and studied her, feeling the love swell up in him he smiled softly. He heard movement in the doorway and looked up to see Catherine standing there with two cups of what he presumed was coffee.

She handed it to him and he smiled, "Thanks."

She nodded and took another of the empty seats.

"Greg and Warrick," he asked, wondering about the other two members of his family.

"I told Greg to take Warrick out for at least an hour. He hasn't slept or eaten much since Nick's surgery and I told him he was barred from the hospital until he'd done one or the other."

Grissom nodded, thankful once again that Catherine was there to help. He ran his fingers through Sara's hair and the younger woman stirred momentarily before shifting and going back to sleep.

He looked over at Catherine and she said, "Oh, Gil, what are you going to do?"

Grissom looked over at her and said, "I've made my choice, Catherine. I can't go back."

"Don't be so sure," Brass said, as he came into the room as well, "Sheriff told me before I left that he'd do anything to get you back, up to and included promoting you to Ecklie's job and handing him his papers."

Grissom just looked at his friend and said, "I don't want Ecklie's job, Jim. I never did."

Both Catherine and Jim looked like they wanted to complain so Grissom explained, "I'm a field guy, that's what I like that's what I want. I don't want to be stuck in an office all day; I don't want to run the lab. I just want my guys with me and I want to solve cases."

He looked at Sara and ran his fingers through her hair again and said, "Besides, there are some things the Sheriff couldn't give me no matter how much he might want to."

"You're going to give up everything you worked for," Catherine said, "I just want to make sure you're not making a mistake."

Grissom smiled at her and said, "I appreciate it Catherine, but I almost lost this once before because I didn't have the courage to fight for what I want. I'm not afraid anymore. Besides, I don't think Xander is quite as strict on fraternization as L.V.P.D. is."

"What about the others, what about me," Catherine asked.

Grissom shrugged, "Xander said he'd make sure you all could get your jobs back if you wanted. I'm pretty sure he's a man of his word."

Catherine chuckled, "Right. Greg's going with you I have no doubt of it. He worships you and you know it."

Grissom tried to argue but honestly knew he couldn't, Greg had a lot of potential and if he was willing to learn Grissom was willing to teach.

Catherine looked at Nick's still sleeping form and said, "Sara's of course going to go with you, and I don't know about Nick but I don't think he's going to want to go back to Vegas after this. Seeing what's really out there, I think his white knight complex is going to drive him to go with you."

Grissom sat and said, "So I guess that just leaves you and Warrick. You're the ones that would be leaving the most behind. You two were raised in Vegas after all."

"Yeah, well, I think Warrick's divorce had kind of soured Vegas for him a little bit, and every time he walks past a Casino I swear I see just a little flash of guilt. It's been six years since Holly's death and I still think he feels guilty over it. I think maybe he's ready to move on."

Grissom nodded and considered Warrick's past and his actions and figured Catherine might be right.

Grissom then stared into Catherine's eyes and said, "So that just leaves you."

Catherine sighed, "I have a daughter Gil, and my mom and dad are both in Vegas," she saw his face fall but held up her hand, "but knowing what I know now, I don't know if I could go out every night wondering what might try to get to Lindsey while I'm not there to protect her. My mom's always telling me that I need to do what's best for Lindsey and we all know about my dad."

Grissom nodded, Sam Braun was a sore spot for the whole team. Grissom respected him for helping when Nick had been kidnapped but he couldn't help but always look for the Casino owner's ulterior motives, it was something he couldn't help.

"So what are you saying, Catherine," Grissom asked finally.

"I don't know what I'm saying," she said. She looked at Brass who seemed confused by the whole conversation as well.

"What I'm saying is that it's not as easy for me to just pack up as it is for the rest of you but at the same time maybe it's exactly what I need to do. I'm saying I need to think about it."

Grissom nodded, "Fair enough."

"Could you all think about it somewhere else, please," a weak voice said from the bed. They all jumped to their feet.

"Nicky," Catherine said happiness clear in her voice.

All the commotion woke Sara form her catnap and she was on her feet and beside the bed as well.

Nick reached up to his head weakly and Grissom took his hand to stop him. Nick's bleary eyes tried to focus and Grissom said, "They had to relieve some pressure in your head from the blow Nick, right now it probably feels worse than it is, but now that you're awake you should make a full recovery."

Nick seemed comforted by the tone, if not the words he seemed to barely be able to understand. He looked really out of it and Grissom said, "You just rest Nick, no one's going anywhere."

"Great," he said with just a touch of sarcasm, before closing his eyes and quickly slipping back to sleep.

The friends all met one another's eyes and realized that things, one way or another, were going to be ok.

*****

Xander sat in the conference room looking up at the screen while he and Giles discussed what had occurred at the Hyperion with Jack and Willow. To say they were both pissed, hell everyone was, when Willow revealed what had actually transpired and what she had done, would be an understatement.

However she had pulled her trump card early and had pointed out that if she had earned a shot at redemption then Arthur deserved one as well.

Giles had only been a little harder to convince than Xander but what had clinched it was that Arthur agreed to give the names and identities of any one in the Council he'd ever had contact with. It was a chance for Giles to really, once and for all, cut out all the vestiges of the old Council so he'd agreed, with reservations.

Arthur had been made to agree to a modified truth serum that would work on his demonic and human physiology since truth spells were considered unreliable due to his innate resistance to magic. The man had readily agreed to whatever provisions Giles had insisted upon, with gusto. He apparently felt he had a lot to make up for.

Xander reminded himself to get Angel to talk to the man at some point. Those two could be brood partners, or something.

"How is Willow," Giles asked, bringing Xander out of his inner musings.

"She's great," Xander said, "I've never seen Willow this happy or comfortable in her skin. We thought she was ok before, but compared to now she was practically suicidal. It's a little disturbing but in a good way."

"So you feel there are no ill results of her joining with her dark self then," Giles asked.

Xander shrugged, "We've all got darkness in us, Giles, you know that more than anyone. She's earned our trust I think. Besides, Mistress Harkness gives her a clean bill of health, right?"

Giles nodded, "Although that woman has never been completely clear with me I do trust her judgment implicitly and she says Willow is better now than she's ever been before, 'truly balanced' is I think what she said."

"Well there you go then," Xander said, smiling happily. It was good to see Willow so happy, so alive. He never realized how much she was just moving through things until he saw her like this. In a way it made him feel guilty that he hadn't realized how much pain his best friend was carrying around with her but she told him it didn't matter anymore.

"And as to this new obsession with Dr, Jackson," Giles asked, concern marring his features.

"Got me," Xander shrugged, "she said she'd tell us when she was ready but she wasn't yet."

"I took the liberty of looking the man up myself," Giles said as he picked up a few papers on his desk, "The young man was considered somewhat of a prodigy in Archeological circles before some of his more outlandish theories landed him in no man's land. He's not been really seen or heard of in more than ten years. I can't imagine what help he could be to Willow."

Xander shrugged, "Me neither, but you know those brainiac types. They get together and who knows what might come about."

Giles looked slightly cross with Xander and said, "Yes of course, those types."

Xander grinned at his surrogate father's annoyance.

"So you'll be returning to England then," Giles asked.

Xander nodded, "In a little while, got to get our new forensics department settled in. They're going to be busy and I want to make sure they've got what they need."

"Forensics," Giles said, "Who would have thought we'd set up our own department to investigate demonic activity, it's unprecedented."

"Things have changed Giles, I can feel it, we need to use all the tools at our disposal," Xander said, strength and conviction in his voice.

Giles seemed uncomfortable all of a sudden and said, "Xander, about the Powers."

"Forget it Giles, I'll deal with it as it comes, like I always have."

Giles nodded, "I've no doubt of that my boy, but remember you're not alone in this."

"I know Giles, and thanks," Xander smiled warmly.

The moment was broken by the sound of a crash on Giles end. A moment later a voice could be heard, "Grand-pappy Giles, Melissa broke my bo staff again."

Giles turned a glare worthy of Ripper on Xander who suddenly remembered he needed to be anywhere but there, "Got to go Giles, talk to you later."

"Xander, when I get..." whatever else Giles was going to say was cut off as Xander ended the connection. He wiped his suddenly sweating brow and said, "Yes, definitely need to take my time setting Grissom up in Washington. Definitely."


	14. Chapter 14

14. Epilogue: New Jobs, New Destinies

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.

I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.

I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.

So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)

AN: Well this is it. Hope you all like the sum up and what's next.

Washington, D.C.

Homeland Security

September 25, 2006

Grissom and his team looked around the foyer like a bunch of tourists on their first trip to the big city. It was hard not to, after all, this was Homeland Security, one of the most secure buildings in the world this side of the Pentagon. It had taken them nearly an hour to get through the various levels of security to get to where they were now, waiting for Xander, and some guy by the name of Riley Finn.

Grissom couldn't help but think back to what had happened once they'd defeated Jack the Ripper.

****Flashback****

The night shift of LVPD Crime lab was sitting around one of the conference rooms of the hospital. It had been a week since Nick had regained consciousness but he wasn't going to be able to be checked out for another couple weeks while they monitored him for complications. He was lucid enough that he was asking questions and Grissom had decided he deserved to be present while they discussed what they were going to do.

Nick was in a wheelchair and the others were positioned around the table. Grissom was glad Xander had been able to arrange for them to have this meeting now. They need to get things rolling, one way or another, and being cramped up in Nick's hospital room wasn't going to cut it.

Grissom looked around the table at his team, his family and said, "So that's it? You're all sure?"

Nick was first, "I'm sure. Now that I know what's out there…" he tapered off and shook his head slightly being careful not to do it too hard and cause his vision to swim. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm sure."

Grissom nodded, accepting that at face value. Warrick was next, "I've lived in Vegas all my life, but I guess now it's time I did something new. Vegas just isn't what it used to be for me."

Grissom shared a look with the man and made a note to talk to him privately, make sure he was making the right choice for the right reasons.

Greg didn't give anyone else a chance before he said, "It's a brand new lab, can you imagine the equipment we'll have access to? Of course I'm in. Besides, Vegas just wouldn't be Vegas without you guys."

Grissom smiled, sometimes Greg could be so child like, but underneath it there was a strength that Grissom was going to do everything in his power to develop. Greg had the chance to be a great force in the forensic world.

That left, Catherine.

Grissom looked over at his right hand and just raised his eyebrow at her.

She smiled and said, "I've talked to Lindsey, and mom, and dad. Lindsey's not so happy about leaving her grandma, but she wasn't as against it as I thought she would be. Mom couldn't give me a good enough reason not to go, she's always told me I should do what's best for Lindsey and taking a job where I'll make more money so I can take better care of her is exactly that, so she's on board."

"What about Sam," Nick asked.

Catherine's face fell slightly and she said, "I think he feels like I'm running away from him. I know what he is, I'll never forget that, but, he's still my father and he really was there for me when I needed him. But he said he understood I needed to do what was best for my career and for Lindsey. I guess I'm in then."

Grissom looked at Sara; he already knew her answer so he just nodded when she did. Finally he cleared his throat and said, "Ok, were in this then. Xander told me that he's got us scheduled to be in Washington late next month. So we've got the rest of this time to get packed and out of Vegas. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Nick said, "Can we get some food I'm starving?"

Everyone laughed in appreciation of the ice breaker and headed out. They had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it.

As they were heading out Grissom caught a glimpse of Brass who was making his way towards him. He squeezed Sara's hand once and then moved to talk to his friend.

He saw the look on Jim's face and knew it wasn't going to be great news, "So what did he say?"

Brass shrugged, "Sheriff told me to tell you not to make a stupid mistake and get back to Vegas where you belong. Then he sort of implied that if I didn't come back with you I shouldn't come back at all."

"Jim, I'm sorry," Grissom began but Brass waved him off.

"It's ok, Gil. Truth be told I wasn't planning on going back anyway."

Grissom could have been knocked over with a feather, "What? I thought you liked Vegas."

Brass shrugged again, "Vegas was just a place to live. I've got my daughter back, Gil, that's more important than anything."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do? You had a good thing in Vegas; you're giving up your pension and everything."

Brass chuckled, "Funny thing that," he moved to sit at one of the chairs in the conference room, "Annie found out I wasn't going back and she put a call into some of the bigwigs down town. I suspect Harris might have made some calls too I just got offered a position in L.A.P.D. working with Annie's Squad. I'll take her place as Captain and she's getting a promotion."

"I thought she was persona non-grata around here after that thing with 'The Eagle'," Grissom said shocked.

"I guess Harris and his people carry more weight than Patterson's friends down town. Annie's still only going to be working with the weirder things in L.A. but at least they made a place for me and I'll be close to Ellie. That's what really matters to me anyway."

Grissom nodded, "So that's it. You're moving to L.A. then."

"Yup," Brass said grinning, "Sheriff almost had a heart attack when I told him. I guess it stings to lose more than half a dozen staff in one fell swoop. The way he made it sound heads were going to roll back in Vegas and Ecklie's is the one that's going to roll the furthest."

Grissom couldn't help but smile just a little bit, "Well that's unfortunate for Conrad, isn't it."

Brass let a full grin spread across his features as he said, "Yeah, poor guy."

The two friends shared a moment before Brass said, "Ellie's coming by to pick me up and take me out for a celebratory dinner. Were taking the whole gang, her friends, and ours, you in?"

Grissom looked to his friends that were still standing by, waiting for him. He smiled and said, "I think that'd be great, let's tell the others."

****End Flashback****

Grissom saw Xander approaching with another man, slightly taller than Xander himself. Grissom examined the man with a critical eye. Sandy hair with a scar on the left side of his face; his movements; smooth and precise bespoke of training, probably military, and was only slightly diminished in its smoothness by the limp.

As they finally got close Xander said, "Dr. Grissom, guys, allow me to introduce Riley Finn, he's our direct contact with Homeland Security and he's the guy you'll be working with from now on."

Riley shook Grissom's hand and each of the others in turn, "Dr. Grissom," Riley said, smiling, "Xander's told me all about you and your team and the immense help you gave during the recent crisis. I can't tell you how lucky we feel to have you here."

Gil looked slightly confused and it was a confusion he saw shared by the rest of his team members, he look at Xander and said, "I thought we would be working for you."

Xander nodded, "That's true you will, however officially, you're going to be working for Homeland Security under Riley's department. That will make Riley your boss technically; just like technically, he's my boss."

Riley snorted unprofessionally at that and said, "Yeah right, like you know how to take orders."

Xander grinned unrepentantly and said, "Yeah well, like I said it's all in the category of 'officially'." He made the obligatory air quotes and Grissom relaxed somewhat realizing that Riley Finn was obviously a friend of Xander's which meant he was probably trustworthy. Xander didn't seem the man that would expose people to those that couldn't be trusted.

The group moved collectively to the elevator and Riley punched in a code saying as he did so, "Security's finishing up the paperwork for you and your team, Dr. Grissom. You'll all get badges, ID's, and codes that will get you in and out of the building much faster than what you went through earlier. Let me suggest that you carry the ID's with you at all times unless advised otherwise. It can avoid some embarrassing hang-ups that way."

Riley looked pointedly at Xander who had the good grace to look embarrassed at the situation that he'd found himself in with L.V.P.D. when everything had started. Grissom heard Nick and Greg chuckle behind him at Xander's discomfort.

The elevator moved swiftly to its destination and they moved down a hall to Riley's office. It was quite spacious and Grissom noticed that a number of chairs had been placed around the room, most likely for him and his team. Everyone sat down and waited for Riley to begin.

Riley went behind his desk and pulled out some packets before handing them out to each of the team members in turn. They opened their packages and found a contract with their name detailing their responsibilities and job description. It was all very legal and not at all indicative of what they would truly be doing for H.S. but it would make the paper pushers happy.

Riley and Xander shared a grin as they waited for the first one of them to get to the part about their salary.

As it turned out, it was Catherine who actually froze. Xander knew the moment she hit the number because she literally stopped moving completely, and stayed that way. He was half way concerned that he'd need to make sure she was still breathing. Finally, after an eternity she found her voice, "Gil?"

Apparently Grissom must have gotten to the same page and long years of working together meant he knew exactly what she wanted. He didn't bother to look at her but said, "I see it Catherine."

Grissom looked around his team and saw similar looks of shock before turning to Xander and saying, "Is this accurate?"

"What," Xander asked, tongue in cheek, "not enough?"

Grissom just looked confused and perhaps just a little annoyed so Xander held up his hands and said, "Look guys, when I first started this stuff I was a sophomore in high school. As we grew up we kept at it but you have no idea how hard it was to fight demons and vampires at night, and still make a living wage during the day."

He looked over at Riley and smiled, "We had some problems with the government and military early on but we've made amends with one another and when we got the chance the first thing we did was make sure than anyone and everyone involved in this fight didn't have to worry about the same things we did. Your job is to help us protect the innocent and this world from the things that want to destroy it. Maybe you're not going to be out there fighting demons like the Slayers, or me, or Willow, but like we learned last month the things you guys can do can be just as important, if not more important sometimes than being able to swing a sword or use a stake."

Riley took that moment to jump in, "Xander's right. You all demonstrated how useful you can be here and you helped solidify some plans that we've had in the works for a while but finally realized how plausible it would be."

Everyone looked confused but it was Nick that spoke up and asked, "What's this plan?"

"Simple," Riley said getting out another file and handing it to Grissom, "We want to create a demonic database, forensic in nature similar to the DNA and AFIS databases that currently exist for human criminals. Now Demons don't have finger prints, but vamps do, and they can still leave prints…it's just a little harder to get them, but I think with today's technology we can really work out how to use forensics against the demons just like we use it against human monsters."

"The problem is," Xander said, "that although we know demons we don't know the first thing about forensics. That lab out in L.A. got more use last month when you guys were there than in the entire year since it had been set up. All those people trained in lab procedures but having nothing to do. We want to change that."

"Where do we come in," Greg asked.

"We want you guys to be teachers," Riley said simply, "We want you to teach our field agents how to spot forensic evidence. Because whether it's human, vampire, or demon, everything leaves behind a part of itself and that part can help us find it and stop it faster. You guys know how to find that stuff, but right now you don't know what to look for because you don't know demons. So we also want you to be students. You learn demons, you teach us forensics, and we create a new science. You'll never be famous for it, at least not publically, not in your lifetime anyway, but still, your help will ultimately save human lives and just might be one more tool we can use to ultimately win this war."

Grissom looked around the room, getting nods from each of his team in turn before turning back to the two men that were offering him and his people a chance to literally create a new science and said, "We'll do it?"

"Excellent," Riley said, "The contracts are standard for this section of Homeland, as are the confidentiality agreements. After you've signed them I'll have someone show you guys to your offices and you can get to work."

"About the pay," Greg said, "It just doesn't feel right to make that much doing something that we should be doing anyway."

Xander laughed and said, "Trust me; you're going to earn every bit of that. Because in addition to everything else you're going to be doing you're going to be getting field training in combat procedures as they apply to demons and vamps. Most of the time you guys will go into an area that's been secured but hey, shit happens as they say and you need to be prepared. It's going to be grueling, back breaking work so don't worry, you're going to earn every dime. Besides like I said, I've been a minimum wage victim because of this fight, and if we've got the funds to share, then we're damn well going to share."

They all nodded, some looking down right nervous at his description of the training they'd receive before signing their paper work. Riley made a short call and soon two people entered the room dressed in lab coats.

Riley limped around the desk and said, "David, Maggie, I'd like to introduce to you Dr. Gil Grissom and his forensics team from Las Vegas, they'll be joining us."

Riley looked to the new team and said, "Guys I'd like to introduce to you Dr. David Belson, and his wife Dr. Maggie Shaw-Belson. She's head of our bio-genetics lab, helping us map out the demonic, something or other and David's in charge of medical research. He's the guy that helps us make sure that our people stay clean from all the demonic crap they come into contact with."

Dr. Belson laughed, a deep, happy sound and said, "Crap, what an excellent description Riley, I knew some of my jargon would rub off on you eventually."

Riley just shrugged, and Dr. Belson said, "Hello Dr. Grissom, I've read some of your papers and its amazing and fascinating work. I can't imagine what we'll be able to do with you and your team here. I'll need to get you guys down to the lab and do a complete work up on you. So far we haven't seen any negative effects from contact with demonic," he looked at Riley and said, "crap, but still, as Xander and his friends have proven you never know what could happen so we prefer to be safe."

Grissom nodded and said, "Thank you doctor, and please call me Grissom, or Gil, which ever you prefer."

"Well then you can call me David," Dr. Belson said.

His wife stepped forward and shook Grissom's hand as well, "Hello, Dr Grissom, I mean, Gil it's a pleasure to meet you." She then shot an annoyed look at Riley and Xander who were both chuckling and she was fairly certain she'd heard the words "geek" and "convention" at some point and said, "What my lunkhead supervisor was trying to tell you is that I'm examining demonic genomes to see if there are any inherent weaknesses, as well as mapping their DNA so we can begin to create the databases."

She ignored Xander and Riley's affronted looks as Greg stepped up, his interest clearly peaked as he asked, "You're actually mapping the demonic genomes?"

Maggie smiled as she began to move out the door, Greg right on next to her as she began explaining what they were doing.

Grissom watched him go and smiled before he said to David, "Your wife might have just gotten herself a new best friend."

David smiled and said, "We heard about Mr. Sanders coming and we were going to offer him a position in Maggie's department anyway. We don't know how responsive he'll be since we were made to understand that he went into the field because he was tired of DNA work but maybe this will be just the thing to get him back in a lab coat."

Grissom nodded and said, "Well, I guess we're ready."

"Great," David said as he looked out the door and called someone in, "This is Michael, one of my assistants; he'll show you down to my office so we can get going I'll be down in a few moments."

Grissom nodded and headed out with the rest of the team following Maggie and Greg's path.

As the office door closed Xander looked at David and asked, "What do you think?"

"Well, ordinarily I'd say it's a bad idea, but from what you guys told me about their help in Vegas and L.A. they should fit in perfectly. I think we've got a real chance of getting this off the ground."

"That's just want we wanted to hear, David," Riley said smiling, thinking of the advantages they could have against the demons once they get the new Forensics units up and running.

Xander looked at David and asked, "How's the talisman working out?"

David pulled a necklace of the darkest Jade Xander had ever seen from under his shirt and said, "I found out it works a couple of nights ago and now I'll never take it off. Tell Willow how grateful I am, will you?"

Xander smiled and nodded as he examined the man he'd mistaken for a demon a year and a half ago and considered how far he'd come in that time and how lucky they were to have him and Maggie on the payroll. Xander shook his head to clear it and said, "Well, I'm out of here, got a few things to take care of."

He turned to Riley and said, "Keep me posted and let me know if they need anything."

"Will do," Riley said as he shook Xander's hand. David shook it as well and Xander made his way out of the office.

*****

Los Angeles

Headquarters of the unofficial supernatural section of the L.A.P.D.

Jim Brass walked into his new home away from home at the precinct where he would be working as the new Captain. Annie had just had him in his office to give him a pep-talk and share some old times. He was sure he'd almost be skipping due to his good mood…it he wasn't to manly to skip of course. Ellie was having a bad influence on him, he thought before even that made him grin. His daughter was having a bad influence on him because she was in his life and cared.

He found his office and the pile of paperwork that Annie had conveniently left for him to go over. Mostly personal files to help him get acclimated to who it was that was working with him. According to Annie all of these people had been involved in some way with the darkness and had been assigned specifically to this unit so they could help keep things quiet.

As he was looking through the files one caught his eye, "Stein."

Brass sat down and read the file carefully. This was the guy he'd spoken to about Xander early on. This guy knew about the supernatural, knew about Sunnydale obviously since he was from there, and yet still had tried to point Brass right in Xander's direction.

Something about this stank and he was going to find out. He picked up the phone and called one of the numbers Xander had given him it was time to find out exactly what was going on.

*****

Washington

Xander stepped into his office new office at Homeland Security and leaned against the door to take a much needed breath. Things had changed in the last month much of it for the better. Riley's help the last few weeks had finally broken through the rest of Buffy and Giles' reluctance at working closely with the government again and now Xander, Willow and a few others had offices at Homeland Security and were official Agents for that agency.

Willow was in Cleveland helping with a minor demon problem. It wasn't something she felt she needed help on and had told Xander she'd be a couple of days.

Xander had agreed after eliciting a sworn oath from his best friend that she'd teleport him there immediately if she needed him. She had agreed wholeheartedly.

Xander had been at the same time more and less protective of the witch since L.A. More so in that he worried quite often about what had happened if she hadn't been able to take on Jack by herself. That thought making him want to superglue her to his form and never let her out of his sight. Less so in that his pride at how well she'd handled herself made him relax his overprotective nature just a tad.

He still would probably call her a half dozen times over the next few days to make sure everything was alright but a half dozen was better than his usual even dozen, right?

He leaned away from the door and headed for his desk, but froze as he suddenly felt a very, very powerful presence in the room with him.

He didn't even bother to look as he spun around pulling his gun as he did so, intent on getting the first shot in.

His efforts amounted to less than nothing however as his gun hand was locked in an iron grip as he came around and then his wrist twisted and the gun yanked from his hand before he was deposited unceremoniously on his ass.

He looked up at his attacker and watched as the individual, dressed in all black clothing examined the pistol for a moment before ejecting the clip and tossing it and the now empty gun on the desk.

Then he looked down at Xander who was struck by the man's odd mannerisms and movements, as well as the coal black straight hair that seemed almost like a bowl around his head.

Finally the man came to a decision and said, "I need a word with you Alexander Harris."

"Sorry, booked up," Xander quipped automatically, "Come back tomorrow."

The man, if that's indeed what he was simply smiled and said, "I think not."

He then reached down and gabbed Xander in a steel grip that Xander was powerless to resist before he felt the sensation of a teleportation, but one unlike he'd ever felt before.

*****

Xander's vision cleared and he saw that they were standing on one of the cliffs that had once overlooked Sunnydale. Now it overlooked Sunnydale Lake and the Pacific Ocean beyond that. He turned to the "man" that had brought him and said, "So this is it. The Powers sent you to take me out."

It was a statement, not a question. Xander had known that his days were numbered, he'd just thought he'd get a chance to say good bye first.

He set himself into a stance, even though, judging by the power he was feeling off his opponent it was a futile effort, he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

The man just smiled humorously and said, "Be at east Alexander, I'm not here as an agent of the Powers. In fact, The Powers have, for your information, been relieved of their responsibilities."

Xander actually dropped his hands in shock and said, "Huh?"

"You talking monkeys," the man said, hardness entering his eyes, "eloquent as always."

"Gabriel," another voice sounded, the warning tone clear as another man appeared next to the first.

'Gabriel' as was apparently the first man's name seemed chastised at least partially by the voice and said, "My apologies, Voice. It's just sometimes I have a hard time understanding why we bother with them."

"Take care," the other man said, hardness entering his own eyes, "It is exactly that attitude which put you at odds with The Creator in the first place. I had thought you had learned your lesson. Have you so quickly forgotten the nobility of Danyel?"

Gabriel stared with fire in his eyes at the one he'd called 'Voice' and said, "He is no Danyel, Metatron. Not even close."

"No, he isn't," Metatron said, "but even though he isn't of Danyel's 'stock' he's sacrificed and been willing to sacrifice himself to protect this world from the Demons since he was barely a man. Certainly that must count for something with you. Or was I wrong to tell Her that you were ready?"

Gabriel seemed to deflate somewhat and said, "I'm sorry. I do not know what came over me. Old hatred I thought long dead seemed stirred and I couldn't help it."

Metatron nodded and said, "It's the Hellmouth, or rather the old vestiges of it. Even now it still permeates a certain evil. Why would you come here to talk to Alexander?"

"I do not know," Gabriel said, considering the question, "I just felt compelled to bring him here."

"Yeah," a new voice said, "that was me. Sorry."

The tone of the voice clearly indicated there was no apology truly meant and Xander spun to see who the new speaker was. Normally he'd not be so quiet but something told him he was way out of his league in this one and gazing upon the new arrival only served to further convince him of that.

It was another man, or what looked like a man, standing in a long well used leather trench. His hair was long and greasy and his beard and mustache looked trimmed but also dirty. It was the eyes however that told Xander this man was more than he seemed. There was darkness and malevolence there he'd never seen before, not even in the demons he had devoted his life to destroying.

The reaction from the other two was immediate. Before Xander could even think to move they had both positioned themselves between him and the newcomer as if protecting Xander. He'd find the whole thing amusing considering one of them had kidnapped him that was if he felt at all like being funny.

The new arrival smiled and said, "Gabriel, how's it going. We've missed you."

Gabriel snorted and said, "You kicked me out because you couldn't control me, Lucifer, remember?"

"Ah yes," 'Lucifer' said, "that's right. You couldn't accept your place in things even when it was clearly defined."

By this point Xander was in near panic. If this was Lucifer, the real Lucifer then he was screwed. The other two he seemed to remember their names but he couldn't place them. At that moment Lucifer locked eyes on him and said, "So, this is the Protector of Man. I'm hardly impressed. I don't know why everyone's going to so much trouble over you really."

"Then why are you here," Metatron asked, "If you think he's so insignificant then what would bring you here."

Lucifer snorted, "Even I answer to someone. Upper management wants me to make him an offer."

"He's not interested," Metatron said.

"Ah, ah," Lucifer said, wagging his finger at Metatron, "You know it doesn't work that way; free will and all that. He has to choose to turn me down."

Xander gulped as he was again the center of attention of those two malevolent eyes.

Lucifer smiled and said, "So, how about it Xander how about you come work for me. I promise I'll even let you see your friends."

Something, some sudden boost of courage infused Xander and he stared right back unflinchingly and said, "Not a chance. You're never going to get me, or any of my friends."

Lucifer actually laughed, "Oh please, I've already got most of them."

Xander shook his head in denial but before he could say anything Lucifer said, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Xander paled and Lucifer laughed, "Hey I didn't write the words, I just cash in on them. Your witchy friend is already mine, and she always will be."

Xander looked at Metatron and said, "Is it true."

Metatron shook his head, "No, it isn't. Although it is true that your friend has touched evil, and even done evil, the ability to use magic is not inherently evil."

Lucifer glared at Metatron, "'Whatever you hold true on Earth I shall hold true in Heaven'. The Son spoke those words. The church sees witchcraft as an unpardonable sin. She's mine and you know it."

Metatron smiled and said, "That would be true," as Lucifer began to smile Metatron dropped the other shoe, "If Miss Rosenberg was a Christian. She's not, and in fact never has been. She follows the other Goddesses now, and they follow The One. In their service Miss Rosenberg serves Her. Her salvation is her own, and her final reward will be decided by the whole of her existence, not just one aspect that doesn't apply."

Lucifer seethed in rage and said, "You are cheating. You cannot take mine from me. You don't have that power. You try and you'll violate the law. I'll see to it that Creation itself is pulled down around you."

Metatron's eyes hardened and said, "Your threats are less than nothing. You know the law doesn't support you; if you could have convinced this boy that would have been one thing. But why you would even try when I stood here to counter you is beyond me."

"You only counter me if he believes you," Lucifer said. He looked at Xander and said, "After all the ways they've betrayed you boy, letting your friends die, letting you be born to those parents of yours. All the deaths of the innocent children called as Slayers do you really think you can trust them?"

*****

Willow felt a chill as she examined the computer screen in front of her carefully. She'd been looking at everything she could find on Dr. Daniel Jackson in every conceivable place she could think of.

She stood as the chill passed and looked out the window, closing her eyes and letting her senses roam, touching the earth as they did. She didn't feel anything out of place. Everything felt right but her instincts told her that the chill wasn't natural.

Finally realizing that she wasn't getting an answer right now she sat back down at her computer and went back to work.

It wasn't easy, finding Daniel Jackson was like trying to find Harmony's virginity, as the man seemed to have virtually vanished off the face of the earth. Using what Miss Harkness had said as a guide, that his theories were true she eventually played a hunch and went looking for him in the government databases.

*****

Xander considered the words, carefully. He looked at both Metatron and Gabriel. Metatron's eyes seemed kind, while Gabriel's seemed merely tolerant. But then they'd already said he had some prejudices against humans, didn't they. Of course considering some of the specimens that were out there he couldn't blame him. His parents themselves were poster children for extinction of the species.

However in reality he knew there was no choice, not really. Although Gabriel and Metatron might be unknown quantities Lucifer certainly wasn't. Finally Xander looked at Lucifer and said, "No, I'm not sure I can trust them."

Lucifer looked triumphant until Xander finished by saying, "I'm just sure that I absolutely can't trust you."

The rage that filled Lucifer's eyes could have melted steel. Xander met the gaze and said, "Piss off, Lucy; I'm not buying what you're selling."

He then turned his back to the Devil and concentrated fully on Gabriel and Metatron. Lucifer seethed with murderous hate and said, "This isn't over boy, trust me when I say you're going to be mine one way or another."

With that he vanished and Xander actually felt weak kneed. Only Metatron's firm hand kept him from keeling over.

Xander wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded at Metatron before saying, "What the he..." he stopped when he considered what he'd almost said and modified it to "heck is going on?"

Metatron smiled in appreciation and looked at Gabriel who had eyes filled with amusement as well.

Metatron said, "Welcome to the big leagues, kid."

"I don't get it, what's going on? Who are you guys? I mean I have my suspicions but I want to hear you say it."

Metatron smiled and said, "We're angels. I am the Voice of God and Gabriel is the Trumpeter. We fought Lucifer when he tried to take over heaven. We are here now, by decree of the Creator to give you the good news that things have changed."

"If you're angels where are your…" there was a sudden flash of light that caused Xander to shield his eye for a moment and when he looked back both Metatron and Gabriel sported wings of the purest white he'd ever seen. The wings were held out extended, nearly ten feet across.

"Wings," Xander finished lamely.

There was another flash and the wings were gone. Xander shook his head to clear it and said, "So you're really not here to punish me for interfering with the Powers?"

Metatron shook his head, "No, Gabriel spoke the truth. The Powers have been relieved of their responsibilities, partially because of you, I might add, and have been replaced in their duties."

"Wha, me? How, I mean what did I do," Xander asked confused.

"You challenged them, Xander, and didn't back down from what you felt was right. That alone threw a wrench into their plans. When they began to take direct action against you The Creator decided that they had finally truly failed in their mission and replaced them. They no longer have any place in the destiny of you, your friends or the Slayers. The entities that do now take that role have been given a stern warning not to make the same mistakes. I think you'll find the Elders to be most supportive," Metatron explained.

Xander shook his head, "I don't understand any of this."

Gabriel snorted and Metatron gave him a hard look. Gabriel waved it off and said, "The Powers failed Alexander, 'balance' was never their stated purpose. They were charged with defending this realm and others from the demons and from the machinations of the First and its servants. However, the Powers had no faith in humanity. I understand that feeling, or at least I did," the angel amended parenthetically; "however I learned my lesson, and hopefully, in time the Powers will learn theirs. However that's not why we're here. The Creator gave us a different task than waxing on about the failures of the Powers in their duties."

Xander cleared his throat and said, "Now when you say 'Creator' you mean," he pointed up at the sky.

Gabriel couldn't help himself and said, "Clouds?"

Even with the gravity of the situation Metatron couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips, "I have missed you," he said, smiling.

Gabriel allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his lips as well and then said, "Yes, we mean God."

Xander again shook his head and said, "So God sent you to tell me that the Powers are out of business and the Elders have taken over. From what I've heard from the Halliwell sisters that's not much of an improvement."

"True," Metatron said, "or rather it would be true if your actions hadn't caused a major shake up, upstairs."

"Huh," Xander said again.

Metatron shook his head, "Your actions, Alexander brought to light just how bad things had become because of the Powers and their mindless obsession with 'balance'. The Creator made it clear to everyone upstairs that either their on her side, or their on the First's side. There are no more bleachers in this game. Things are going to get harder, I can tell you that. Evil is going to become much more aggressive because they no longer have the luxury of just waiting things out. If they want to win now they're actually going to have to fight to do so, and trust me, the First will make sure that they do."

"Great," Xander said, darkly, "just what I needed to hear."

Metatron rested his hand on Xander's shoulder and said, "Take heart young one. You have my oath as a servant of The Creator that good shall meet this increase in evil's efforts on all fronts. You shall not be left alone. You will never be alone again, ever."

Xander couldn't believe what he was hearing, "You mean you're actually going to help?"

Metatron shrugged, "Me, personally," he asked, then shook his head, "No Alexander, my direct interference is still forbidden until the final battle. But there are others, other fronts of this war that will come to your aid, as well as for your support. No longer are we following the Power's plan of keeping each battle separate from one another. That was a path that evil took full advantage of, and many of our great warriors have been lost because of that."

"Today is a new day, Alexander," Gabriel finally said, taking an active role in the discussion, "God has decreed that every God and Goddess that makes up the multiverse must now take up their responsibility for this fight. The Pantheons of the Greek, the Egyptian, the Norse, the Aztec, even the Valar have all been tasked with taking a greater role in the fight against evil."

"Valar," Xander asked, confused.

"Higher beings in another dimension," Metatron hastened to explain, "Not something you'll need to worry about." He glared at Gabriel slightly who simply shrugged. Not seeing why it was such a big deal to tell the mortal boy about some of the more esoteric realities of the multiverse…it wasn't like he wasn't going to find out eventually.

"So if you guys aren't going to actually help, why are you here, talking to me." Xander asked.

"Although we'll not be actively helping in your battles Alexander," Metatron answered, "it does not mean that we are not going to help."

He looked at Gabriel who stepped forward, before saying, "Gabriel shall be 'around' as you like to call it. He'll let you know if something is going on that you and your friends need to know about that's bigger than usual. You're not going to know he's there otherwise but if he needs to tell you something then you'll hear from him. As I said, you're in the big leagues now. The First is going to take an active interest in taking you out. Gabriel is here to make sure that doesn't happen. You have a lot of work to do for us Xander, and for the people you love. I know this isn't what you intended when you told Whistler and the Powers to take a flying leap but this is what has resulted. Now there's one more thing we want to ask of you and that is a formal declaration."

"What declaration," Xander asked.

"All of the greatest warriors for The Creator have formally pledged themselves to Her service. Sampson, David, Abiel, Jesiah, all at one point or another formally pledged themselves to service to the Creator. They pledged that they would continue the fight for good no matter what happened to their mortal shells. Their pledge has led to their spirits continuing this fight, as will you, if you take this pledge as well."

Metatron cleared his throat and placed a comforting hand on Xander's shoulder, "Understand this, Alexander, this is a hard path we ask you to take. You will become a beacon of hope to those around you, even more than you are now. You will also become a target for the First and its servants. They will seek to corrupt you, or to destroy you. Eventually you will fall, you will die, and when you die, you will not go to heaven to rest, but you will be sent elsewhere, or elsewhen, to continue this fight until its end. I want to make sure you understand that which we are asking you."

"And if I refuse," Xander asked, his gaze almost defiant in the face of the angel.

"If you refuse then nothing," Gabriel said, "the fight will continue, the call the Creator has made will remain. Everything that we've told you, about the Powers, the Elders, everything, will remain. All that will change is that when you die, you will go to heaven and your battle will be over."

Xander nodded his head and said, "So basically you're offering me either a chance to die and be at peace in heaven, or an existence of centuries or millennia fighting evil until it's finally defeated; with no heaven and only, maybe, an occasional rest before I rejoin the battle again. Is that what you're saying?"

"It is," Metatron said, grimly.

Xander turned his back to the two angels, staring down at the lake below him. Marveling at how peaceful and quiet it appeared while underneath its surface he knew what lies beneath. He thought about all the friends and even some of the enemies that lat buried beneath its depths. Jesse, Larry, Teresa, Joyce, Anya. All those names, all those faces flashed through his mind as he thought about what was being offered. He would never rest until the battle was over. His other friends, some day, they'd get the chance to go to heaven and be at peace, but if he accepted, that would never be his destiny. Could he do that? Could he give up heaven for the foreseeable future? In an instant he thought about Buffy, and all she had sacrificed to protect the world. Even though she'd complained, loud and often, she'd never forsaken her duty. Not really. Even when she'd run away to L.A. she'd still, in the end, done what was right and saved all those kids from that worker hell.

In that instant Xander realized that what he was being asked to do was more important than him and what he wanted.

*****

Jim Brass was not a happy camper. He'd finished talking to Angel and his crew about Stein and got the scoop on the guy. Including Angel's suspicions that the good detective may have actually been working for the mayor to try and hurt Buffy knowing what the mayor was the whole time. That made Stein a traitor as far as Jim was concerned; a traitor to the badge and more importantly a traitor to the entire human race, something he'd become keenly aware of since his introduction the reality.

Trouble was that he couldn't just fire the guy, that'd rise to many questions. Transferring him was out as well because the last thing he wanted to do was put him in a position to be out of Jim's sight. The problem was, if this guy had worked for the bad guys once before, he was probably doing it again.

Jim didn't look forward to the idea of bringing down another cop. The last time he'd done it had cost him too much; both professionally and personally. Still if that's what had to happen then that's what had to happen.

If nothing else he felt he owed it to Xander and his friends after everything they'd done for his daughter, and for bringing her back into his life. If he could repay them, even just a little by taking out a corrupt cop that would stick a knife in their back the moment he got the chance then that was what he was going to do.

Still this wasn't something he could do alone so he made a call to Annie's office to arrange a meeting. He needed to talk to his best friend and figure out what they are going to do with a dirty cop that wasn't just a risk to the unit, but ultimately had the potential to be a risk, to every man, woman, and child in the city.

Those kinds of stakes were too big to ignore.

*****

Xander turned to Metatron and said, "There's no real choice here."

Metatron seemed disappointed and then Xander said, "I hereby formally declare myself to The Creator, to fight in the battle against evil until it is finished, and victory is achieved."

Metatron looked gob smacked and Gabriel just looked pleased, as if he'd known what was going to happen all along.

Metatron stepped up to Xander and said, "You realize what you've done?"

Xander nodded his head, "I made a choice."

Metatron looked pleased and said, "Congratulations, Protector of Man."

Metatron rested his hand on Xander's shoulder and he felt a love and peace that he'd never felt before. As if they were tangible things that he could wrap himself in like a blanket, or a suit of armor. He felt charged; energized like he'd never felt before, but at the same time his knees weakened with the sensations that flooded his very existence.

"She accepts you pledge," Metatron said, holding Xander steady.

"What does this mean," Xander asked, "what must I do now?"

"Nothing," Gabriel said, "just keep doing what you've been doing, what you've always done."

"Follow your heart Alexander, in the end that's all you can do," Metatron said and then vanished from sight.

Gabriel looked at Xander and said, "I'll be around, but don't expect to see me. Angels are still not really supposed to be wandering around on the mortal plane, makes the natives restless."

Xander nodded and then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Gabriel caught him to make his descent more gentle and then looked up into the heavens and said, "You were right, he really is something else."

*****

Xander jerked awake suddenly in his office chair. He looked out the window and then at the clock on his desk and realized he must have fallen asleep. He yawned and stretched as he got the kinks out of his back at the position he'd been sleeping in and then stood.

'That was one hell of a dream', he thought to himself, 'Still, finding out from the Seers in Devon that the Powers really have been taken out and replaced by the Elders was bound to mess with our minds a little.'

With that thought he finished his stretch and moved out towards the door. Riley and Sam were cooking him dinner tonight to catch up and he wasn't going to miss it for the world.

As he stepped out of his office he bumped into someone, "Oh, sorry," Xander said.

"Sorry sir didn't see you there," the man said as he walked off.

Xander looked at the retreating man's back and thought for a moment that he recognized the man. The feeling passed and Xander turned to head out.

As he turned the corner the man turned to watch Xander leave and said, "Don't worry, Alexander, when the time comes you'll realize your dream was more than that, but for now, let the memory of our talk fade from your memory, so that you don't feel that pressure any sooner than you have to. But when you do, I will be there."

With that the Trumpter vanished from sight and the hallway was left as if he'd never been there.

*****

Willow was quite surprised at the level of security she was encountering. Getting into the Pentagon's files had been easy, having some level of access due to her new status as an agent with Homeland Security. Still she was pushing her way into areas she didn't belong but it had been no more difficult than hacking the Coroner's office back home.

She eventually found a file on Dr. Jackson that led her to NORAD, in Colorado. Even their computers had been frightfully easy to get into and she made a mental note to anonymously send both the Pentagon and NORAD some fixes to plug up the holes in their security.

It was when she got to what appeared to be another level underneath the NORAD computers that she actually hit a wall.

There was definitely computer system there but it was blocking every single one of her efforts to get into it. It was actually kind of annoying. She didn't know who'd designed the system but whoever they were, they were good. It was also fairly obvious that someone, had figured out she was there and was actively blocking her efforts to go further, while at the same time trying to track her. Willow wasn't able to get past this person, but she was able to keep this person from tracing her back, no matter how good they were.

In fact, Willow was even willing to admit that the person just might be better than her, a reality she'd of never even been able to consider when she was younger, and placed so much of her own self-worth on being the best at whatever she did.

She sat back and considered the problem, and how to overcome it.

*****

Major Sam Carter sat back from her computer with a frustrated sigh. Her friends and team, SG-1 stood around waiting for her as was her commanding office, General George Hammond.

"Well Carter," Col. Jack O'Neill said, "Who is it?"

"I have no idea sir," Carter said, the frustration clear in her voice, "Whoever this is knows what they're doing. Every trap or trace I've tried has been blocked."

She looked at General Hammond and said, "Sir if I can't stop this person, I recommend we isolate the SGC computers, and stop all in and outbound computer work until we can either figure out who this person is, or secure our network better."

"I was under the impression that our network was the most secure on the planet, Major," General Hammond commented.

"It is sir," Carter said, "Our system has only two access points to outside systems and those are to NORAD, we get everything from the outside world through the NORAD system which is incredibly secure. This person hacked through them to get to us and they don't even know about it yet. If I hadn't been doing an active diagnostic on our system I'm not sure I would have noticed either."

Just then her computer beeped and Sam leaned forward and read the window that popped up.

"They're asking for a conversation," Carter said shocked.

"You mean the person trying to get in," General Hammond asked.

"Yes," Carter nodded, "This is a link to a chat program on the internet."

She looked to General Hammond and he considered it for a moment then said, "We need to know who they are and what they want. Talk to them Major, see if you can get them to reveal something."

Sam nodded her head and clicked the invitation and a slightly larger one opened up into a small chat window.

RedWiccan1: You're good.

Sam stared at the blinking cursor for a moment before finally responding.

StarGaz: So are you. You're breaking federal law.

RedWiccan1: PSSSH! Isn't there some law about lying to the entire planet about the existence of aliens? And please, don't insult my intelligence by playing dumb, we both know that's a waste of effort.

"What the HELL??!"

Jack's outburst was mimicked by the others and General Hammond said, "Major I want to know what and how much they know and how they got their information."

Carter nodded, and turned back to her computer.

StarGaz: How do you know about that?

RedWiccan1: Someone told me. By the way, is Dr, Daniel Jackson around?

The entire team looked at Daniel like he had grown another head and Daniel just said, "I don't know anything."

RedWiccan1: No, he's not the one that told me, but a friend did tell me that I should find him because we have a lot to talk about. This friend told me point blank that Dr. Jackson's theories were correct and that I needed to find him so he can help me.

StarGaz: I don't have any idea who he is.

RedWiccan1: Sure you do Major Carter; he's the blonde with the glasses standing right next to you. J

Sam gasped and looked around the room till her eyes settled on the camera in the corner. It actually bobbed up and down once like it was nodding. Sam turned back to the computer to shut down the SGC system but not before whomever she was talking to left one more message.

RedWiccan1: Now that I know what you all look like I'm planning a little visit. Don't worry I'll go through proper channels next time, I just wanted to make sure you weren't evil, first. TTFN.

:Link Severed:

Sam initiated an emergency shutdown of the computer systems outside access but she knew in her heart that it was a waste of time. As soon as she got the confirmation that the system was secured and that the links had been severed she did a system diagnostic and scanned the files, cursing herself the entire time.

"Major?" General Hammond's voice asked.

Sam shook her head, "She tricked me sir. She went back after the system after we initiated the chat. She got all our attention on her, and not on what she was doing."

"How do you know it's a she, Carter," Jack asked.

"TTFN, Colonel."

Off Jack's confused look Sam said, "TTFN stands for Ta Ta For Now. It's something Tigger said when he was leaving. I figure a Winnie the Pooh fan is probably a female."

Jack nodded his head at the logic and said, "We at least learned one thing."

"What's that Colonel," General Hammond asked.

"We're going to be getting a visitor, and it's going to be someone official, probably our hacker," Jack said, reminding them of the last message.

Just then Walter poked his head into the room and said, "General Hammond, the President's on the phone for you."

Everyone looked at one another in confusion and concern and Jack said, "Well, that didn't take long."

*****

Willow leaned back and chuckled, it had been a risk, setting up the chat window but it had worked. Major Carter might be brilliant, but even she can be tricked once and a while.

Willow had gotten in through one of the other accesses she'd tried earlier but failed at because Major Carter was actively working against her. Not expecting her to try getting back in while she was talking to her Willow had hit pay dirt and was able to do a quick download of SGC personnel files and a few other pieces of information. It wasn't everything but it was enough to warrant her call to the President and ask him a favor.

At first he'd been reluctant to even discuss the program, and been a little annoyed at what Willow had done. When Willow explained however that there was good chance that her world and the SGC were about to meet the President had ended the conversation with a firm promise to get Willow into the SGC as soon as possible.

Will had thanked the man for his help and turned back to her pilfered files. She had a lot to learn and very little time to do it. She also had to figure out a way to get Xander to go with her without telling him everything about why.

For some reason she thought she should wait until they were there before she let him know what she knew and why. She only hoped he and the rest of her family would understand her reasoning when it came down to the time for explanations.

AN: Well, that's it. This is my FIRST completed story, and I feel pretty good about it. The confrontation between Lucifer, Xander, Metatron, and Gabriel HAD to happen, for reasons that will be revealed later...however I figured making it a ream would make things just a little more interesting. I also didn't wrap up EVERYTHING in a neat little bow and I let off some new loose ends to play with next story. I hope you all enjoyed it and I promise to start the next story soon. Till then, thanks for reading.

The End


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